DALLAS, Jan. 25, 2010 – Americans say they are loosening their purse strings on entertainment and other household expenses but not on charitable giving, according to the annual Dunham+Company New Year’s Philanthropy Survey conducted by Wilson Research Strategies.

Compared to the 2009 study, this year’s survey shows a surprising 56 percent jump in the number of households indicating they have not reduced their household budget as a result of the economy. 

In addition, there are 15 percent fewer households reporting a reduction in their spending on monthly bills and 9 percent fewer reporting a reduction in entertainment spending, one of the areas hardest hit according to the 2009 study. Click here to download full study. 

Yet when it comes to charitable giving, 37 percent of respondents indicate they continue to reduce their charitable donations and nearly 1 in 4 say they have eliminated donations altogether – statistically the same rates as last year.  

There are some exceptions, however, said Rick Dunham, president and CEO of Dunham+Company, which helps Christian ministries with their fundraising, marketing and media strategies.

“When you dig into the data, you find that more of those who frequent religious services indicate that in spite of the economy, they are continuing or increasing their support of charity in 2010 compared to 2009,� he said. “Fewer of these households have reduced or stopped their giving. This is especially impressive as there is actually a 10 percent increase in the number of non-religious households who say they have stopped their giving as we enter 2010.�

The survey also indicates that households earning $35,000 or less are much more likely to have reduced or stopped giving (33 percent more than the national average), whereas households earning $100,000 or more are less likely to have reduced or stopped their charitable giving (38 percent less than the national average).

In anticipating charitable support in 2010, the indicators remain virtually unchanged from 2009.  However, about one in six frequent church attenders do intend to give more, which is 33 percent greater than those who do not attend church.

In this economic climate, many fundraisers have expressed concern about the administration’s proposal to help fund health care and other government programs by raising taxes on households making $250,000 or more.  Respondents clearly rejected this idea as 63 percent of those surveyed failed to support such a policy. 

“The data related to giving basically remains unchanged from 2009,� Dunham said. “Most charities should expect contributions to remain relatively flat this year, which is not good news for the many non-profits that are struggling.  But religious charities should fare better than most as there are a greater number of these households indicating they are supporting charities as we begin this year compared to last year.�

There is one bright spot, however, for all charities.  The findings do indicate that there should be a resurgence in giving by households making $75,000 or more a year. Among those making $75,000 but less than $100,000, this year’s survey showed an 80 percent jump in those who intend to increase their support of charity in 2010 (18 percent in 2010 compared to 10 percent in 2009) and for households making $100,000 or more there was a 31% jump compared to one year ago (21 percent in 2010 compared to 16 percent in 2009).

The study was part of Wilson Research Strategies January Omnibus Study of 1,000 adults nationwide.  All respondents were contacted via Random Digit Dialing methodology. Interviews were conducted via live telephone interviewer Jan. 8-11, 2010.  A sample of 1,000 has a margin of error of +/-3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

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