This year, wealthy Americans are happy to give their time and effort to causes—but not political ones, according to U.S. Trust.
Most wealthy Americans are sitting out this year’s election cycle, according to the 2016 U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy.
Only 24 percent of high-net-worth donors gave to a political candidate, campaign or committee in 2015, or plan to do so during the 2016 election season, according to the study.
U.S.Trust defines" high-net-worth" as having more than $1 million in assets and/or more than $200,000 in annual income.
Most wealthy donors said they do not plan to contribute to a political campaign, cause or candidate this election season, according to the survey. Respondents gave several reasons for why they are not donating: because they do not feel like their contributions have an impact compared to corporate and political action committee contributions; they do not feel like political contributions in general make a difference; and because they do not have a political candidate that they would endorse in the 2016 election.
The population segments most likely to donate to political causes were respondents over the age of 70, 40 percent, and LGBT idividuals, 38 percent.
When broken down by party, 36 percent of Democrats were likely to make political donations versus 22 percent of Republicans. Similarly, liberals, at 43 percent, were more likely than conservatives, at 24 percent, and moderates, at 17 percent, to give to a political cause.
Respondents who donated to campaigns reported doing so because they viewed it as an opportunity to have their voice heard, because they hoped to influence the outcome of elections, and because they believed that their candidates could make a difference.
Basic needs organizations received support from the most high-net-worth households, at 63 percent. Additional causes supported by high percentages of wealth donors included religion, 50 percent; education, 45 percent; the environment, 42 percent; and health care, 40 percent.
Impact investing has caught on with the respondents, according to the survey.