42% of Consumers Volunteer Time, Donate Money to Local Charities

Consumers who donate money to local charities tend to spend more money with local businesses as well.

Four out of 10 consumers do volunteer work and contribute to charities, according to “Financial Institutions and Customer Loyalty,” a PYMNTS and Elan collaboration based on a survey of 2,504 U.S. consumers.

Get the report: Financial Institutions and Customer Loyalty

The survey found that 28% of consumers do volunteer work and contribute to charity once a month or less, and another 14% do so more than once a month.

These consumers who volunteer or donate money to charities are more likely than others to shop with local merchants and support local businesses.

For example, while 27% of all consumers frequent their local financial institutions, 30% of those who have charitable involvement do so.

Consumers who volunteer significant time and donate significant money are especially likely to spend more money with local financial institutions and professional service providers.

While 53% of these consumers spend money with local financial institutions, only 20% of consumers who neither volunteer nor donate do so.

Similarly, 47% of consumers who volunteer significant time and donate significant money spend money with local service providers, while only 13% of those who neither volunteer nor donate do the same.

Consumers who donate significant money to charity, without volunteering significant time, are more likely than those who do neither to purchase goods or services from local restaurants, merchants, financial institutions and service providers.

Volunteer work is a less reliable indicator of a consumer’s patronage of local business. Those who volunteer significant time, without donating significant money, are more likely than those who do neither to visit local financial institutions and service providers, but less likely to visit local restaurants or merchants.