Political Donations Not Hurting Nonprofits - Study
by Michael HoffmanMonday, August 25th, 2008
You would think that with the $50-$100 million being raised by the presidential political campaigns each month — not to mention state and local campaigns — that this would be hurting nonprofits. Maybe not.
A new study from Merkle looks at who is giving to campaigns versus who is giving to charity.
But while political fundraising levels reach new heights with each presidential election, charitable giving also continues to grow, meaning that both fundraising groups have a wider base from which to find donors, says the study by Merkle, a provider of data-driven marketing solutions.
The study examined similarities and differences between donors who give to presidential campaigns and those who give to nonprofit organizations. It also reviewed historical direct-mail performance data from large national nonprofits in various sectors, including health, environment, military, political, domestic relief and international aid.
And it compared that data with political-contribution data obtained from the Federal Election Commission.
Data from before, during and after an active election cycle were analyzed.
The study concluded donors to political campaigns are typically younger, more likely to be male, have higher incomes and tend to be located in the Northeast.
Nonprofit donors are typically older, more likely to be female, and are located across the U.S.
Link [Philanthropy Journal] via [Joe Baker -twitter]
