American Generosity: Who Gives and Why
Patricia Snell Herzog and Heather Price
Abstract
This book answers what, how much, who, where, and why questions of generous activities. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach that defines generosity as expressed through multiple forms of giving. The focus is on three primary forms of giving: donating money, volunteering time, and taking political action. Also explored are participation in giving blood, bodily organs, material possessions, relational attention, and participating in environmental sustainability. All findings are based on data from the Science of Generosity Initiative, combining a nationally representative survey of adu ... More
This book answers what, how much, who, where, and why questions of generous activities. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach that defines generosity as expressed through multiple forms of giving. The focus is on three primary forms of giving: donating money, volunteering time, and taking political action. Also explored are participation in giving blood, bodily organs, material possessions, relational attention, and participating in environmental sustainability. All findings are based on data from the Science of Generosity Initiative, combining a nationally representative survey of adult Americans with in-depth interviews and ethnographies of a subsample of survey respondents. From the interviews case studies were selected to narratively illustrate core themes. The analyses examine multiple dimensions of resources, social status characteristics, regional cultural norms, different approaches to giving processes, social psychological orientations, and relational contexts of generosity. The conclusion presents a theoretical model of resource-, norm-, and identity-supported “circles of generosity,” which ripple outward in their reach to different targets of giving. Practical implications include tips for readers who are interested in increasing their giving, parents modeling giving to children, spouses desiring giving alignment, and friends and community members wanting to support other people’s giving. Also offered are fundraising ideas for nonprofit, foundation, and religious leaders, as well as scholars of generosity.
Keywords:
donations,
volunteering,
civic engagement,
relational support,
social psychological,
survey,
ethnographies
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2016 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780190456498 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: March 2016 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190456498.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Patricia Snell Herzog, author
Assistant Professor, Depratment of Sociology & Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas
Heather Price, author
Senior Associate, Basis Policy Research LLC
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