I’ve been asking that question lately of a lot of people. The answer I get invariably takes the form of

“Uh, what? Oh, well, um… I don’t really know. I give to [school name here] and my church and then a bunch of donations to other charities…” which they proceed to list.

Given that the average giving household spends $1,600 to $2,000 in cash donations every year (based on which study you read), it’s a bit surprising that most people really have very little idea of the relative levels of support they provide. Did they really give 25% to children’s hunger issues, or was it 3%? Was their alma mater blessed with 35% of their giving, or was it more like 70-80%? Are Harvard, Babson, BC, Wheaton or other schools more worthy than Horizons for Homeless Children, the Pine Street Inn, or the One Campaign? If not, why do they get so much more of our donation dollars?

Since it’s tax time and your donation receipts are probably close to hand, take a quick look and calculate the support you give to various broad categories of cause. Shoot me a note – jtreadway at givvy – and let me know what you found out… If I get enough responses I’ll share the overall data (won’t give out your info directly, don’t worry). I’ll include mine too, which for the record shows a 2007 pattern that is not what I really want it to be.