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As incomes rose in the early part of the 20th century, individual philanthropic giving to social welfare organizations became a deeply entrenched part of American life. In his new book, Philanthropy in America: A History, Olivier Zunz describes 1920s and 30s research into individual giving trends. Between 1900 and 1929 the percentage of people in a given city who donated to philanthropic causes jumped from 3 percent to 35 percent. A 1929 survey of farmers’ budgets in 11 states found that families donated an average of $1.10 to the Red Cross and other organizations, in addition to giving to churches.
This charitable impulse continued even during the hard times of the Great Depression. A 1933 study of clerks and streetcar employees in San Francisco found that 93 percent donated an average of 1.5 percent of their earnings to the church or to social welfare organizations, and that 88 percent of those families donated to organized charities.
