L.A. Area Ranks High in Charity

Los Angeles County residents give generously to charities, but many believe that philanthropic groups spend too much of their budgets on administration, according to a survey released today.

Nearly three-quarters of county residents--73%--gave money or property for charitable purposes during the past 12 months, according to a poll of 611 randomly selected adults commissioned by the California Community Foundation.

The nonprofit fund-raising organization said the study shows that area residents donate to charity at a slightly higher rate than the national average, based on earlier surveys.

But the poll revealed some concern among residents about how their donations are spent: 44% said charities spend too much on administration and 45% said foundations and philanthropic agencies could give away more money than they do.

Jack Shakley, president of the California Community Foundation, said the study shows that charitable groups must “communicate far better about [their] mission.” The public, he said, is “sending a very clear message. . . . They are discriminating observers of how our industry behaves.”

Disdain for telephone solicitations surfaced in the survey. More than two-thirds said they would be less inclined to support an organization that contacted them by telephone.

Two-thirds of respondents said they would be more inclined to donate to groups that provided information through a toll-free phone line. Fifty-eight percent said they would more likely give to groups that sent mail to their homes and a majority said they would be more inclined to donate to groups advertising through radio (55%) and newspapers or magazines (51%).

Tax benefits have little effect on giving, with 62% saying tax considerations affect their likelihood of donating not much or not at all. Only 10% said tax benefits affect their likelihood of giving a great deal, and 24% said they have some influence.

The study, conducted by Field Research Corp., follows a similar survey commissioned by the California Community Foundation in 1997. Many of the responses to this year’s poll matched those of the previous study.