Few Americans Say Charities Are Highly Trustworthy

The report said older generations and white respondents put much more emphasis on a nonprofit's trustworthiness before giving, and tended to be less trusting of charities overall than minorities and younger generations.

These, the report said, were likelier to rely heavily on engaging stories and perceived sincerity and passion in a charity's appeal when making giving decisions.

Thirty-two percent of millennials surveyed and 45% of Gen Z respondents said passion and sincerity were a top perceived signal of trust, compared with only 9% of poll participants ages 72 to 89.

The research also found that racial minorities and younger generations were more likely to perceive verifying trust in a charity as "easy," suggesting that these groups were less likely to carefully vet a charity before giving.

Eleven percent of respondents expressed a wish to be approached by charitable groups, while 22% said they might give more if approached. Again, generational and racial differences were factors here.

Two-thirds of Gen Z donors said they would like to be approached or would give more if this happened, compared with 7% of those 72 to 89. Likewise, 56% of African-American respondents, compared with 24% of white ones, were open to being approached by charities.

Asked what types of donations they wanted to increase in the future, younger respondents were disinclined to raise their monetary donations, but indicated an above-average desire to attend charitable events, support good business or social enterprise, raise awareness by engaging their networks and invest in donor-advised funds.