Rich donors relied more on legal advice

High-net-worth donors relied more on lawyers and accountants for philanthropic advice than financial advisers in 2007, according to a survey released Monday by Bank of America. The study involved nearly 700 participants with household incomes greater than $200,000 and/or a net worth of at least $1 million. The survey was conducted by The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University in Bloomington for the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank. When asked about sources for advice on philanthropy, 43.2% of those surveyed said they relied on accountants, 41.7% said attorneys and 32.6% said they chose financial or wealth advisers. Two years ago, a similar survey found that 41.2% of donors said they relied on the personnel of nonprofit organizations and 35.9% said they sought advice from their own peers more than any other sources. Donor-advised funds were cited as a popular giving vehicle, with 20% of respondents stating they currently use these funds and another 20% indicating they would consider them in the next three years. The respondents cited various reasons for deciding to stop giving to charities in 2007. Nearly 60% who stopped giving to an organization attributed it to “no longer feeling connected to the organization.” Additionally, 51.3% said they decided to support other causes and 42.3% said they felt they were solicited too often. A smaller group, 12.7%, said they stopped giving because of mismanagement of donations, another 6.7% said because of mismanagement of assets, and 5.3% cited inaccurate record keeping. The survey was conduced in May and June but did not include forward-looking estimates of behavior. “We’ve seen people who are stepping up and others being more conservative,” Claire Costello, national philanthropic practice executive for Bank of America, said in a statement. “They could offset each other at the end of the day. Giving has been very resilient in the face of past economic hits.”