The share of Latinos who give to established charities has dropped sharply since 2008, a new study has found. The same has been true for other Americans, but the percentage of Hispanics who give to help people in need through less formal efforts is higher than for others in the United States.
Still, the rate of Hispanics giving to help others in informal ways, such as crowdfunding for a neighbor’s medical bills, funding a relative’s education, and sending money to family members in another country, are higher than those of others. Sixteen percent of Latino households gave that way, on average, from 2000 to 2018, compared with 12.6% of other households, the report found.
The report drew from several data sources, including the Lilly Family School’s Philanthropy Panel Study and a Bank of America philanthropy study, which both looked at nationally representative samples. The report also included the results of focus-group conversations on Hispanic philanthropy with donors, philanthropic advisers, and nonprofit professionals.
“We have this expanded definition for our people, and I think that’s reflected in some of the narratives but may not necessarily be reflected in the data,” she says. “Because the personal is so important to Latinos, because we define family, generally, more broadly than some non-Latinos, informal giving is part of our culture,” she says.