Abstract: Using 20 years (2004–2023) of Consumer Expenditure Survey data (N = 628, 720), we present the first national portrait of U. S. households donating 10, 000+ to educational institutions and test alternative "major-gift" thresholds for such charitable giving. These donors are rare (2. 4 per 10, 000 households or 0. 024%) but show a distinct life-cycle profile. Among all households, the probability of a 10, 000+ education gift rises by 0. 016 percentage-points (pp) per additional 100, 000 income, by 0. 021 pp with a senior adult (65+), 0. 051 pp for graduate-degree holders, and 0. 026 pp for "Other" race, but decreases by 0. 016 pp when children are present. Among donors to various sectors, income predicts large gifts more strongly for education (+0. 057 pp per 10k) than for other charitable (+0. 023 pp) or religious causes (+0. 017 pp), as does being "other"-race (+1. 46 pp). Broader gift thresholds (top decile/quartile) add homeownership, male gender, and Asian race as positive predictors. Collectively, the findings highlight a donor profile of high-capacity, highly educated, older, child-free households, including racially diverse segments.
Dorjsuren et al. (Sun,) studied this question.