The couples who live together tend to give together, too.
According to timely research released Monday by Boston-based Fidelity Charitable, decisions to support charities are typically made by both partners in couples who live together, making philanthropy an opportunity for advisors to involve the spouses and live-in partners of their clients in creating a financial plan.
Fidelity’s “How Couples Give” survey found that 81 percent of donors who are married or live with a partner decide to make charitable donations as a couple, generally through consensus. Only 11 percent of the respondents reported disagreements on philanthropic decisions.
Couples are taking time to discuss philanthropy among themselves; 76 percent of the respondents said they discuss which charitable organizations to support, and 70 percent said they discussed how much to give to specific organizations.
Advisors still have an opportunity to help these charitable couples -- only half of the respondents, 52 percent, reported having a discussion about their annual philanthropic budget, and fewer than one-third, 31 percent, discussed which assets to contribute.
The “How Couples Give” report is based on a survey conducted among 694 Fidelity Charitable donors conducted last year.