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Households in Puerto Rico are giving to charity at a greater rate than mainland counterparts despite economic turmoil in the territory.
Nearly three-quarters, 74.9 percent, of Puerto Rican households reported making charitable donations in 2014 as compared to the rate of 55.8 percent among mainland households in 2013.
The statistics come from Giving in Puerto Rico, a study conducted in collaboration between Flamboyan Foundation, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Kinesis Foundation. Information was gathered from 847 geographically representative households in 2015.
Seven out of 10 Puerto Rican households give informally and the majority, 67 percent, stated that they knew little about philanthropy or nonprofits. Just one-third of respondents could name as many as three nonprofit organizations and 75 percent were unaware of changes made to the tax code that provide benefits to charitable giving.
The data contradicts previous findings that the amount given to charity is tied to knowledge about philanthropy. “We see an opportunity in Puerto Rico to increase formal giving, since a large part of donations are informal in nature, such as helping a stranger, a neighbor, a friend or relative,” said Una Osili, Ph.D, director of research at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Other key findings from the report include:
“The findings offer the first scientific base for giving in Puerto Rican households,” said Guiomar García Guerra, Ph.D., executive director of Flamboyan. “It confirms what we already know, that we in Puerto Rico are very generous. Giving in Puerto Rico also provides an understanding of giving so we can start thinking about being more effective as philanthropists during this time of great need.”
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