Comments on: Who are the most generous givers?

By: A roundup | Sense to Save

A roundup | Sense to Save — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:18:30 +0000

[...] PF shares a distrubing bit of research findings that show on average, most people don’t donate much of their incomes (we’re talking around 2% here). In fact, the lowest-income earners give the highest [...]

By: Night Owl Mama

Night Owl Mama — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:54:44 +0000

thats why the rich stay rich and the poor get poorer depends on the richness that your looking for

some can be blessed for giving more

By: Kelly Blackwell

Kelly Blackwell — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:18:41 +0000

That was an excellent article. We found it (thanks to your mentioning it) and everyone at my office passed it around (I work at a non profit Christian radio station). Glad you pointed this out!

By: Peculiar Dad

Peculiar Dad — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:53:44 +0000

“The love of money is the root of all evil.” It seems as people accumulate more wealth, they’re perhaps faced with heavier temptation and duty of what to do with it. By these numbers, it appears they’re not following God’s commandments on the situation. Anyone seen the movie, “The Ultimate Gift?” Great movie on this topic.

By: Stats Stats

Stats Stats — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:10:03 +0000

This is a case of someone taking a notion and making a chart around it. I believe that because I just finished studying the topic in sociology and saw no less than 2 charts and 1 detailed report that state something different that this chart. That material claims that the middle-class gives more as a percentage of income, followed by the rich, and then the poor.

I also wonder, how many of the poor are charitable givers while receiving welfare and food stamps? Giving a large percentage, say, of your earned income, isn’t difficult when you don’t have much of an earned income but still receive money.

Just a thought.

By: Wise Debtor

Wise Debtor — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:35:23 +0000

Great article.

My folks always made me give 10% of everything I earned (allowance, lawn mowing, etc) and there was always enough left over to do with what I want. No matter how much I made.

It’s during the times I have not given 10% that I was always short or tight on money.

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:40:44 +0000

For more ideas on giving cheerfully, you may want to visit http://www.cheerfulgivers.org

By: Charlie@PayLessForFood

Charlie@PayLessForFood — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:31:16 +0000

Interesting research.

I’ve always wondered myself why those with the least seem to give the most. I remember seeing the old ladies in my church gladly filling the offering plates when most of them were on social security or other similar fixed incomes, while getting money from the younger affluent couples was like getting water from a rock.

Traveling I’ve also been amazed at seeing the greatest generosity come from people who live in the poorest countries.

I surmise that one of the reasons that the poor give more has to do with empathy. If you are poor you better understand the importance of helping out people in a similar situation as yours.

Another reason may be that being poor makes you truly find those things that fulfill you and make you truly happy like spending time with family, taking walks, or laughing with friends. Money begins to take on less importance in your happiness and thus is easier to part with.

Regardless your posting has made me re-examine how much I give as well =)

By: Larry

Larry — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:25:40 +0000

Is it surprising that no group contributes close to 10%? What does that tell us about our nation as a whole, Biblical or not?

By: Craig @ Money Help for Christians

Craig @ Money Help for Christians — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:39:17 +0000

Thanks for highlighting this article. My experiences affirms the observations of this article. I work with a church in a third world country, Papua New Guinea. The minimum wage is .35 USD per hour. Most of our church members work at that wage. Over the last few years I have learned important lessons about giving and generosity from the worlds poor. Lessons I never learned while living in North American in the midst of the wealthy.