Attitudes to Nonprofits After Katrina and Tsunami are Generally Positive

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The American public's attitudes to, and perceptions of, nonprofits, including charities, foundations, and other philanthropic organizations is generally positive, but substantial minorities hold somewhat negative opinions of nonprofits in general. Individual charities which were actively involved in helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina mostly receive strong positive ratings. However, FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) is rated negatively by a 72 percent majority.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive(R) among a nationwide cross-section of 1,833 U.S. adults between October 11 and 17, 2005. It measures, therefore, the public's reactions to how nonprofits responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the tsunami which devastated parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries in Southeast Asia.

  The main findings of the survey include:

    * The overall average public rating of nonprofits (defined as "including
      charities, private foundations and other philanthropic groups") is 65
      on a scale of 1 to 100. In other words, it is generally positive.

    * The segments of the population which give generally better than
      average marks to nonprofits are younger adults, Hispanics, and people
      with graduate or post graduate degrees. Surprising perhaps, some
      people who would be more likely to be beneficiaries of charitable
      activities -- less educated people, lower income groups and African
      Americans -- tend to rate nonprofits, on average, somewhat less well
      than other segments of the population. This may be a reflection of the
      events in New Orleans. There is little difference between the ratings
      given by Republicans, Democrats or Independents.

    * Notwithstanding these generally positive views, the public is more
      or less equally divided between those who believe "the nonprofit
      sector" is on the right track (34%), the wrong track (30%) or are not
      sure (37%). This is clearly not a ringing endorsement.

    * A majority (54%) does not believe that the response to Hurricane
      Katrina has changed their opinions of nonprofits. Of the remainder,
      slightly more, 27 percent, report feeling more positive toward them
      than report feeling less positive (19%).

    * The organizations perceived by the largest proportions of all adults
      to have been involved with responding to Katrina are the American
      Red Cross (95%), FEMA (83%), the National Guard (79%), the Salvation
      Army (74%), the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund (67%), the Army Corp of
      Engineers (65%), and Habitat for Humanity (64%)[1].

    * Among those who are aware that these organizations did respond to
      Katrina, the nonprofits with the highest ratings are Habitat for
      Humanity (85% positive), the Humane Society (85%), the Salvation
      Army (83%), the ASPCA (83%), the National Guard (81%), Catholic
      Charities (79%) and the American Red Cross (77%).

    * All organizations which were evaluated received positive ratings of
      62 percent or more of all adults, with one exception. A large (72%)
      majority of those who were aware of FEMA's involvement rate it's
      performance negatively.

Measuring volunteerism and donations to charity is notoriously difficult as there is a tendency for some people to claim they did the socially desirable thing when they did not actually do it. However, it is clear that the American Red Cross was the organization which received donations (in cash or in kind) from the largest number of people for both the tsunami (18%) and for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (36%). Second, also by a wide margin was the Salvation Army for both the tsunami (10%) and the Hurricanes (18%). No other charity measured comes close.

                                 TABLE 1
        Demographic differences in Overall Attitudes to NonProfits
                          (on scale of 1 to 100)

"Please rate your overall feelings about nonprofit organizations, including

charities, private foundations and other philanthropic group from 1 to 100.

"1" means you have "very negative feelings" for nonprofit organizations and

         "100" means you have "very positive feelings" for them."

  Base: All Adults

                                       Score/Rating
                                       (Mean Value)

  All Adults                                65

  Age
  18 - 24                                   72
  25 - 29                                   70
  30 - 39                                   68
  40 - 49                                   63
  50 - 64                                   61
  65+                                       60

  Gender
  Male                                      65
  Female                                    65

  Race/Ethnicity
  White                                     64
  African American                          62
  Hispanic                                  71

  Party Identification
  Republican                                64
  Democrat                                  67
  Independent                               64

  Education
  High School or Less                       60
  Some College                              66
  College Graduate                          70
  Post Graduate                             69

  Income (Household)
  Less than $15,000                         61
  $15,000 - $24,999                         68
  $25,000 - $34,999                         66
  $35,000 - $49,999                         64
  $50,000 - $74,999                         65
  $75,000 or more                           67

  Other Categories
  People with Disabilities                  61
  Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual or Transgender    59


                                 TABLE 2
                  Are NonProfits on Right or Wrong Track

"In general, do you think the nonprofit sector in America is on the right
    track, or has pretty seriously gotten off in the wrong direction?"

  Base:  All Adults

                          Total
                            %
  Wrong direction          30
  Right track              34
  Not Sure                 37

  Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.


                                 TABLE 3
               Impact of Katrina on Attitudes to NonProfits

"Based upon what you have read, seen or heard about the response to Hurricane

 Katrina, how has your opinion of America's nonprofit organizations been
                 impacted?  "Do you view nonprofits...?"

  Base: All Adults
                                 Total
                                   %
  Positively (NET)                27
    Much more positively           6
    Somewhat more positively      22
  No differently                  54
  Negatively (NET)                19
    Somewhat more negatively      13
    Much more negatively           6

  Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.


                                 TABLE 4
      Which NonProfits are Perceived to Have Been Actively Involved
                          in Response to Katrina

"Based upon what you have read, seen or heard about, which of the following

organizations are you aware of as being actively involved in responses to
                           Hurricane Katrina?"

  (Note: respondents were shown a list)

  Base: All Adults
                                                   Total
                                                     %
  American Red Cross                                95
  FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)        83
  National Guard                                    79
  Salvation Army                                    74
  Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund                         67
  Army Corps of Engineers                           65
  Habitat for Humanity                              64
  Humane Society                                    55
  ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of
   Cruelty to Animals)                              46
  The United Way                                    43
  Catholic Charities                                34
  AmeriCares                                        14

  Note: Multiple-response question.


                                 TABLE 5
  Ratings of NonProfits Seen to Have Provided Relief to Katrina Victims

"How would you rate the job being done by each of the organizations providing

                  relief to Hurricane Katrina victims?"

  Base: Adults Aware of Organization (Variable Base)

                             Positive Excellent  Good  Negative  Fair  Poor
                              (NET)                      (NET)

  Habitat for Humanity  %       85        32      53      15      14     1
  Humane Society        %       85        30      55      15      14     1
  Salvation Army        %       83        30      53      17      15     2
  ASPCA (American
   Society for the
   Prevention of
   Cruelty to Animals)  %       83        31      52      17      16     2
  National Guard        %       81        38      43      19      16     3
  Catholic Charities    %       79        21      58      21      18     3
  American Red Cross    %       77        33      43      23      18     5
  Army Corps of
   Engineers            %       74        26      47      26      22     4
  The United Way        %       64        15      49      36      29     6
  AmeriCares            %       63        12      51      37      31     6
  Bush-Clinton
   Katrina Fund         %       62        14      47      38      35     3
  FEMA (Federal
   Emergency
   Management Agency)   %       28         8      20      72      29    42

  Note: Positive is the net score of the "excellent" and "good" responses;
        Negative is the net score of the "fair" and "poor" responses.


                                 TABLE 6
 Donated to Different Charities After Hurricanes Katrina/Rita and Tsunami

        "Have you donated to any of the following charities ... ?"

  Base:  All Adults
                         After Hurricanes     Southeast Asian
                        Katrina and/or Rita       Tsunami
                                 %                    %
  American Red Cross            36                   18
  Salvation Army                18                   10
  Catholic Charities             8                    4
  Bush-Clinton Fund              4                    2
  AmeriCares                     1                    1

  Note: (1) "Donated" probably includes the donations of money or goods or
            volunteering.
        (2) Other research suggests that more people may claim to have
            donated than actually did so.


  Methodology

The Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States between October 11 and 17, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 1,833 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Sampling error for the various sub-samples listed in the tables above is higher and varies. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample was not a probability sample.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

  J25586
  Q900, Q905, Q910, Q920, Q926, Q931

  About Harris Interactive(R)

Harris Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll(R) and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value.

Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (http://www.novatris.com/), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online(SM) and be invited to participate in future online surveys, go to http://www.harrispollonline.com/.

  [1] Respondents were given a list of 12 organizations to choose from.

  Press Contacts:
  Nancy Wong
  Harris Interactive
  585-214-7316

  Kelly Gullo
  Harris Interactive
  585-214-7172

  Harris Interactive Inc. 11/05

  The Harris Poll(R) #86, November 28, 2005
  By Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll(R), Harris Interactive