The NonProfit Times - May 15, 2008 - (Page 13)

DONORS EUGENE R. TEMPEL AND UNA OSILI Immigrants And Philanthropy From green cards flow greenbacks via newest residents he United States, a country with a rich heritage of welcoming newcomers, is currently experiencing a profound change in its demographic and cultural composition. As the share of immigrants has grown, the public debate surrounding immigration policy has grown more controversial. Several analysts have argued that new immigrants will place a burden on U.S. communities and institutions. Others have suggested that recent immigrants might not adapt rapidly to U.S. social and economic institutions. Much less attention, however, has been focused on how recent trends in immigration will affect the American nonprofit sector.This is an important topic.There is evidence already that nonprofits are eager to learn about how newcomers will impact service delivery, fundraising, and other aspects of their work. Moreover, the sector can draw unique lessons and insights from understanding how immigrants adapt to U.S. philanthropic traditions. At least one in eight U.S. residents, or 37.9 million people, was born abroad, according to the Center for Immigration T Studies. U.S. Census Bureau statistics indicate that the foreign-born population increased by 11.3 million people, a 57.4percent increase, between 1990 and 2000. The next wave of immigrant growth will come not only from new arrivals, but also from the children of immigrants already here. Those children account for 19 percent of school-age children in this coun- try, according to Randy Capps and his colleagues at the Urban Institute. Many insights into how immigration could impact philanthropy can be gleaned from data from the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS), conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University in conjunction with the University of Michigan’s Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). COPPS, which follows the philanthropic behaviors of a representative sample of U.S. families -- including immigrant families -- throughout their lives and across generations, provides a unique opportunity to study demographic and cultural changes induced by immigration, how those may affect the nonprofit sector, and how immigrants’ philanthropy changes and develops over time. Based on new evidence of charitable contributions, these research findings suggest that immigrants are being incorporated into U.S. philanthropic traditions, adapt rapidly to U.S. charitable institutions, and also have the potential to contribute to and transform nonprofits. After controlling for the effects of other determinants of giving, such as income, wealth and education, immigrants are just as likely to contribute to charitable institutions as are native-born Americans, and they give similar amounts. After 10 years in the United States, immigrants’ giving is very similar to that of native-born Americans. Changes in formal volunteering take longer, in part because volunteerism for Donors, page 14 MAY 15, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com 13 http://www.insurancefornonprofits.org http://www.insurancefornonprofits.org http://www.insurancefornonprofits.org http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - May 15, 2008 Tying Multiple Sub-Brands To The Primary Idea Executive Session: Giving The Donor The Chance To Say Yes Blogging From The Top Contents Striking The Best Deal Don't Be Fooled Immigrants And Philanthropy Bringing In The Dough Good And Bad Organizational Evaluation Design Your Message You’ve Got Mail? Hybrid Power Calendar NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - May 15, 2008

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