In a Bain & Company study about Indian philanthropy reported in the Wall Street Journal I believe there to be some lessons worth sharing for US nonprofits.
Three factors cause Indians to "hold back" from giving:
- Donors’ concern about the accountability and transparency of the NGOs and whether the money is being used optimally and for the declared purposes
- Donors’ lack of awareness of charitable organizations that match their interest
- Tax Laws
I'm not so sure about the tax laws as a factor in the US and in fact there is a big debate going on right now over a proposal by Mr. Obama to abolish all tax incentives for charitable giving. I must admit personally that my charitable giving is not motivated by tax credits at all. It may be an added bonus and maybe I don't give enough to have it make a huge difference but many studies in the past have indicated that donors give because they care, first.
To increase the rate of giving, (Bain) recommends:
- Nonprofits should invest more in hiring the talent to improve their financial reporting and accountability
- Nonprofits should find ambassadors for their causes to help high net worth individuals find causes that resonate with them
- Philanthropic groups should lobby for changes in tax laws that encourage giving
Again, on the taxes, not so sure but right now is certainly the time to be talking to your federal legislator about the tax code and charitable giving.