Study Finds Shifts in Charitable Giving After Recession

By Jess Bidgood

The New York Times

Between 2006 and 2012, the wealthiest Americans became less generous with charitable donations, as a share of their total income, while lower- and middle-income Americans reached farther into their pockets as they witnessed the need for charity in their communities, a study says.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy, in a study released Monday, examined $180 billion in donations to charity in 2012 by taxpayers who itemized their deductions and found that the share of income donated to charity by Americans who earned $200,000 or more decreased by 4.6 percent since 2006. Those earning less than $100,000 gave 4.5 percent more of their income to charity.

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