INTRODUCTION
Many charities covet those supporters who have higher incomes, concluding that higher income means a greater ability to give. In order to provide perspective on how the largest 100 U.S. charities perform with respect to brand awareness by different consumer income segments, Zion & Zion’s research team analyzed the data from 1,053 respondents to our annual survey to rank Americans’ brand awareness of the 100 largest U.S. charities. Note that the original analysis from our study can be found in this report: Brand Awareness Rankings of the 100 Largest U.S. Charities, and related Zion & Zion studies can be found at Millennials vs. Non: The Generational Divide in Brand Awareness Rankings of the 100 Largest U.S. Charities and The Gender Gap in Brand Awareness Rankings of the 100 Largest U.S. Charities.
INCOME CONTRASTS
High earners aren’t in sync with others when it comes to brand awareness of charities. Consumers with incomes <$100K and those earning ≥$100K agree on only six of the top ten charities as to brand awareness (Figures 1 and 2). There are significant differentials where households with annual incomes of <$100K have higher brand awareness than those earning more—the largest is Feeding America, with those making less having an edge of 14% over higher earners (see Figure 3). And there are many charities where higher earners have extreme differentials in brand awareness as compared with lower income consumers. Some examples include American Civil Liberties Union (with a 37% differential), Public Broadcasting Service (36%), and Susan G. Komen for the Cure (30%). See Figure 4.
PUTTING THE DATA TO WORK
It is clear from the data that not all charities suffer from a problem with respect to differences in brand awareness by high income consumers. However, some clearly do. It is our hope that by highlighting the differences in income-related brand awareness where differences exist, we bring some market clarity to the situation, thereby enabling charities to take action where appropriate.