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More than a year after protesters around the world responded to the tragic deaths of , and other people of color, U.S. donors of all backgrounds are still responding to calls for an end to deep-rooted racial inequities.

To learn more about these giving patterns, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy teamed up with the nonpartisan research organization NORC at the University of Chicago to survey 1,535 Americans from Sept. 14 to Oct. 6, 2020. The survey, which has a margin of sampling error for all respondents of plus or minus 5 percentage points, indicates that â€”especially among donors of color.

We  in a recent report that also draws on insights from focus groups convened with diverse donors across the country and prior research.

Diverse Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds

Giving to  including groups tied to the , the , and other cultural and arts institutions and , , and   has grown in recent years. The share of Americans who said they are doing this .

Even larger shares of people within communities of color support these causes: 30.7% of Asian Americans, 19.3% of African Americans and 13.9% of Hispanic Americans donate to social and racial justice causes, compared with 12.6% of White people.

In addition, we found that donors to social and racial justice causes are more likely to be single and young and less likely to attend religious services frequently compared with donors overall. 

Informal Giving

Donors of color who fund charitable organizations also . For example, they were more likely to say that they give money and goods to their relatives and friends than were typical White donors. 

In addition, many Asian and Black people said they had donated more goods to others rather than money. Notably, from our research, we also see that African Americans are the most likely to give to strangers of all racial and ethnic groups, holding other variables constant.

These findings  regarding how  often give directly to members of their communities, including people outside their families and circles of friends.

Fighting Against Oppression

U.S. philanthropists from marginalized groups have used giving as a means of self-help for people of color to fight racial oppression . For example, the African American entrepreneur  helped finance the Underground Railroad.

With the  that began when the  arose, the Asian American community has started to give more to causes that tackle the causes of discrimination and xenophobia. Many Asians are turning to  and to  to fund these efforts to stop hate crimes.

One notable result: the , which advocates on behalf of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. By mid-2021 the new foundation said its funding had .

This article was originally published by . It has been republished here with permission.