Far more people were supportive of protests for racial justice in 2020 than those who made donations to organizations and causes working for racial justice, according to a report published by The Women’s Philanthropy Institute on March 8.
Around four-in-10 (42.1%) of U.S. households voiced support for, or participated in, racial justice protests in 2020, but only one-in-seven (14.2%) financially supported causes or organizations working for racial justice.
Single women, LGBTQ+ households and Black households were more likely than the general population both to support or be involved in protests, while LGBTQ+ and Black households were more likely to offer financial support.
A plurality of respondents (38.4%) support but were not involved in protests, while 3.7% were actively involved.
By comparison, 28.5% said they were “not involved in the protests and do not have a particular opinion about them,” 26.2% said they were not supportive but not actively involved in opposing protests and 3.3% were “actively involved in opposing the protests.”
Single women (48.2%) were more likely than single men (40.9%) and couples (40.3%) to support or be involved in the protests, while LGBTQ+ households (59.4%) were more likely than non-LGBTQ+ households (40.6%), and Black households (69.7%) were more likely than Asian (48%), Hispanic / Latino (46.9%) and white (37.1%) households to do so.
When it came to financial support of racial justice causes, “LGBTQ+ households were more likely to give to racial justice (25.8%), compared to non-LGBTQ+ households (13.3%). Black households were more likely to give (28.3%), followed by Asian American households (24.0%) and Hispanic/Latino households (19.6%), compared to white households (10.9%).”
Nearly one quarter (23.5%) of U.S. households were involved in some expression of support for racial justice protests and/or causes in 2020, with the most common actions being a donation to a racial justice cause or organization, supporting Black-owned businesses and contacting elected officials about issues of racial equity.
“LGBTQ+ households were more likely than non-LGBTQ+ households to support racial justice in any way (40.5% and 22.0%, respectively), including charitable giving,” the report said. “Black households were more likely than other racial or ethnic groups to participate in any form of racial justice support, at 41.2%.”
The full report is available here. An executive summary is available here.
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