Tax deductions for charitable donations spurs contributions in fall and winter, but in summer months filled with family vacations and barbecues giving is generally put on the back burner.
“People are extremely generous in the giving season, November and December,” says Scott Arthur of Houston Star of Hope Mission. “But when it comes to May, June and July, people are vacationing with kids, as they should be, and don’t think about the homeless.”
All non-profits feel the summer heat.
“Typically it’s always a harder time to get in front of individual donors, which makes up the largest piece of the “giving’ pie,” says Nicole McWhorter, Senior Consultant for Houston’s Dini Spheris, non-profit fundraising consultants.
Individuals account for 68% of the giving, foundations 18% and corporations 5%.
Houstonians give $15.9 billion to charity each year, making Houston the second-leading American city for philanthropic giving.
Boomers are the most giving of today’s generational cohorts, Gen Xers the most inclined to volunteer and Millennials the most likely to embrace a cause.
In 2018, Americans gave $292 billion.