More millennials giving this Giving Tuesday, survey finds

Nearly 4 in 10 millennials, 38 percent, planned to chip in to charities today for Giving Tuesday, according to a survey by Kansas City public relations firm Crossroads, up from less than 1 in 10, just 8 percent, a year ago.

Some reasons not to give today? One in 5 in the generation that came of age around 2000 said they simply couldn’t afford it. More than 1 in 4, 28 percent, said they’d never heard of Giving Tuesday.

“While this is up from the 8 percent of Millennials who said they participated in #GivingTuesday last year, there’s room for improvement,” said Mike Swenson, president of Crossroads, which has substantial experience in cause branding, the promotion of charity and philanthropy.

▪ Of those who are giving, 62 percent said they will donate food, clothing or other items.

▪ Millennials said their top causes were human services (56 percent), education (46 percent) and health (34 percent).

▪ Of those who won’t participate, more than 1 in 4, 28 percent, said knowing exactly what their donation would be used for would persuade them to give. And a matching donation, say from a business of foundation, would get 14 percent to give.

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 10:34 AM with the headline "More millennials giving this Giving Tuesday, survey finds."