Other Publications
- An Inequitable Invitation to Citizenship: Non-College-Bound Youth and Civic Engagement
- All Volunteer Force
- America’s Civic Health Index
- The Index of Global Philanthropy 2008
- Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits
- Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation’s Capital
- Can Corporate Volunteering Support the Bottom Line?
- The AmeriCorps Experiment and the Future of National Service
Overview of Cause Champions and Their Causes
Each cause had at least one champion responsible for starting and overseeing fundraising efforts. These champions were not, of course, the only people to work on their causes' efforts, but understanding their characteristics, their base level of technological knowledge, and the issue areas their causes represent provides a context for understanding the Challenge.
The following tables describe the issue areas represented in the Challenge. Key characteristics of champions are based on data from the survey conducted with the cause champions.
Types of Causes
The Challenge represented a broad array of issue areas. Note that at 20 percent, the International/Human Rights/Relief/AID area represents the largest issue area—a percentage that doesn't correspond to data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, in which these issues rank less than two percent of the total number of nonprofits.
One likely reason for these causes' dominance in the Challenge is the global nature of their work; by necessity, these groups are largely already working online, and thus more inclined to participate in an online challenge.
Table 1: Types of Causes
|
Type
|
Overall
|
CGC
|
AGC
|
|
International/Human Rights/Relief/AID
|
20%
|
26%
|
10%
|
|
Eradication/Cure of Disease
|
13%
|
12%
|
14%
|
|
Community/Civic Engagement
|
11%
|
11%
|
9 %
|
|
Education/Literacy
|
11%
|
10%
|
11%
|
|
Animal Rights
|
6%
|
5%
|
7%
|
|
Environmental
|
6%
|
6%
|
7%
|
|
Religious
|
4%
|
4%
|
3%
|
|
The Arts/Cultural Institutions
|
3%
|
2%
|
4%
|
|
Fighting Crime, Abuse, and Neglect
|
3%
|
2%
|
3%
|
|
Other
|
24%
|
19%
|
33%
|
A scan of the “other” categories included the following types of organizations:
- Local and Regional Economic Development
- Hyper Local or Neighborhood Services
- Healthcare
- Education
- Capacity Building, Leadership, and Professional Development for Nonprofit Staff
- Human Services
- Hunger Relief
- Youth Issues
- Peace
Champion Demographics
Although the majority of champions were female, white, and highly educated, there were significant differences in the ages and technology comfort levels of champions who signed up for America’s Giving Challenge versus those who signed up for Causes Giving Challenge.
Table 2: Gender Breakdown
|
Gender
|
Overall
|
CGC
|
AGC
|
|
Female
|
70%
|
66%
|
77%
|
|
Male
|
27%
|
31%
|
22%
|
|
Prefer not to answer
|
3%
|
3%
|
1%
|
Table 3: The Racial and Ethnic Breakdown of Champions
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
Overall
|
CGC
|
AGC
|
|
White
|
78%
|
76%
|
81%
|
|
Asian
|
7%
|
8%
|
3%
|
|
Black or African-American
|
3%
|
2%
|
4%
|
|
Hispanic
|
2%
|
3%
|
2%
|
|
Other
|
2%
|
2%
|
2%
|
|
Prefer not to answer
|
8%
|
9%
|
7%
|
Table 4: Education Achievement of Champions
|
Level
|
Overall
|
CGC
|
AGC
|
|
Haven’t yet earned a high school degree
|
> 1%
|
1%
|
0%
|
|
High school diploma
|
1%
|
> 1%
|
2%
|
|
Some college
|
13%
|
12%
|
14%
|
|
Associates degree
|
3%
|
2%
|
3%
|
|
Bachelors degree
|
41%
|
43%
|
39%
|
|
Post graduate degree
|
38%
|
38%
|
38%
|
|
Prefer not to answer
|
3%
|
3%
|
3%
|
Twelve percent of America’s Giving Challenge survey respondents reported having difficulty with the technology, compared to three percent of Causes on Facebook champions. Also, participants using the Causes application on Facebook were younger than their America’s Giving Challenge counterparts—most likely a reflection of the overall demographic differences between users of Causes on Facebook and users of Global Giving/Network For Good, the donation engines for America’s Giving Challenge.
Table 5: Age of Champions
|
Age Range
|
Overall
|
CGC
|
AGC
|
|
16-17
|
1%
|
2%
|
0%
|
|
18-21
|
2%
|
3%
|
1%
|
|
22-24
|
11%
|
16%
|
2%
|
|
25-29
|
19%
|
25%
|
10%
|
|
30-34
|
14%
|
14%
|
14%
|
|
35-39
|
13%
|
12%
|
14%
|
|
40-44
|
13%
|
14%
|
12%
|
|
45-49
|
8%
|
4%
|
14%
|
|
50-54
|
9%
|
6%
|
14%
|
|
55-59
|
6%
|
3%
|
12%
|
|
60-64
|
1%
|
0%
|
3%
|
|
65 or older
|
2%
|
1%
|
4%
|
|
Prefer not to answer
|
1%
|
> 1%
|
> 1%
|
A third of the champions reported being full or part-time staff, while the remaining two-thirds were a type of volunteer (member, donor, board member, etc.). There were no significant differences in cause affiliation across platforms.
In addition, America’s Giving Challenge donors gave more on average—$24.80 via the Network for Good/Global Giving—than their Causes on Facebook counterparts ($17).
Table 6: Cause Affiliation
|
Affiliation
|
Overall
|
CGC
|
AGC
|
|
Donate to cause
|
47%
|
47%
|
47%
|
|
Full-time employee
|
32%
|
29%
|
36%
|
|
Volunteer
|
32%
|
30%
|
29%
|
|
Founder
|
21%
|
19%
|
23%
|
|
Member
|
21%
|
24%
|
15%
|
|
Board member
|
18%
|
14%
|
26%
|
|
Part-time employee
|
5%
|
3%
|
9%
|
|
Not affiliated
|
1%
|
2%
|
0%
|
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