High-net-worth donors of color contribute a total of $56 million annually to charity, with a median annual gift of $87,500, a report from the Donors of Color Network (DOCN) finds.

The report, Philanthropy Always Sounds Like Someone Else: A Portrait of High Net Worth Donors of Color, (82 pages, PDF) analyzes the experiences and funding preferences of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) high-net-worth donors across the United States. Based in part on interviews of more than 100 high-net-worth BIPOC donors, the report found more than 65 percent of the donors had earned their wealth, as opposed to those who benefited from marriages or inheritances; more than 80 percent gave significant resources to their families and emphasized the value of increasing opportunity for people like them; and more than half of those interviewed explicitly ranked their donation priorities, with 44.4 percent prioritizing social justice, 39.7 percent prioritizing women’s and gender rights, and 36 percent prioritizing racial equity.

“This report reveals that donors of color are a vibrant, committed set of individuals whose life experience shapes their giving,” said Urvashi Vaid, co-author of the report and an advisor to the Donors of Color Network. “High-net-worth donors of color are a powerful and emerging community interested in making an impact to advance opportunity and equity. We are very grateful to the donors who shared their life experiences and giving journeys to deepen our understanding of philanthropy in this country.”

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