Retired Baby Boomers Get Hands-on With Charitable Giving

Retired baby boomers who are donating their money and time to charitable causes are doing so in a more hands-on way than previous generations of retirees, according to the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society in New York.

“Social change is the focus for the baby boomers,” said Barbara Luria Leopold, coordinator of International Fellows Programs at the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, or CPCS. “One of the common things we notice is that when [this generation] talks about giving, they are talking about doing as well as giving money. They want to discuss their potential for volunteering as they retire,” she said.

An August 2005 survey of 2,333 American adults conducted by the Prime Group, a marketing consultant in Washington, D.C., showed 75% of all baby boomers’ contributions go toward charities focusing on health, education, disaster relief and arts and culture. Twenty-five percent goes toward advocacy issues and political campaigns. On average, baby boomers donate $1,361 each year, according to the survey.

But “giving” for baby boomers often comes in the form of volunteer hours at places where they are already involved, like schools, churches, or charitable organizations, according to Leopold.

“[Retirees] are reaching a point where they want to put their talents to use," Leopold said. "They have professional experience and they are pursuing that. Maybe they were teachers while they were working; they can still be teachers when they’re retired.”

Another trend in retiree philanthropy is giving to smaller charities. More baby boomers are donating their time and money to the little guys, according to the CPCS.

“[Baby boomers] aren’t giving as much to the large umbrella organizations like United Way, or other large organizations that will simply channel the money down," Leopold said. "People want to know more about the efficacy and efficiency of the organization. Often times, the feeling is, for the large part, that the smaller organizations have more accountability, more transparency, and will benefit more from the donations,”

The two trends of hands-on involvement in charity and donating to smaller organizations are newer and more satisfying than just getting out a checkbook and signing over funds to a large organization, according to Leopold. “I think these [trends] will be favored again and again, because the kind of feeling you get when you can be hands-on and really see where your money is going -- there is no comparison to that.”

Education  reform will be the likely focus of the next generation of baby boomers (those who are now 45), according to Leopold, but many of them are getting involved now. According to Judy VanGorden, senior vice president and CFO of The Arizona State University Foundation, more older alumni are making donations during their lifetime.

“Of course we do see alumni who have their estate make a gift on their behalf upon their death, but more commonly, we see people who want to see the effects of their contributions so they can have that experience and maybe meet some of the beneficiaries,” said VanGorden.

In 2007, the ASU Foundation received $104 million in donations from both individuals and corporate entities.

“A lot of people are more involved in philanthropy now than they were in the past. The baby boomer generation has more resources than their parents, because their parents had different challenges, attitudes and experiences," said VanGorden. " I think that the kind of information we have available to us today, about all the different causes out there has caused a different kind of response in people. I wouldn’t say that today’s [retirees] have more time, but it seems that people are more interactive, and it’s natural that a society like that will want to respond similarly and have an impact. That extends to people preferring to make donations of time as opposed to just writing a check.”

For 2006,  charitable contributions in the U.S.totaled $295 billion, according to the CPCS. Donations from individuals made up 75.6% of that figure, while estate bequests made up 12.5%.

“The feeling is that you need to get involved early,” said Leopold. "Most of this country’s donations are coming from living individuals who can watch their money make a difference. This is a savvy generation we are talking about. They are large, healthy and wealthy, and they want to see an impact. They are the generation that grew up in the 60’s, and they have a sense of social investment that has to do with social change and making an impact. They know that if you want to make change, you have to take action to do so.”