55% of Young Adults Have Never Heard of Giving Tuesday

Fifty-five percent of young adults have never heard of GivingTuesday, and only 16 percent of those who have given annually during the event, according to a new report from the Y.

The findings come despite other evidence showing awareness of the annual international day of charitable giving is on the rise.

The Y commissioned a survey of 2,000 Americans ages 18 to 38 about their giving habits and priorities. The causes they cared about the most were gun control (30 percent), human rights (28 percent) the environment and sustainability (26 percent) homelessness and housing inequality (25 percent), and overhauling the health-care system (25 percent). Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

Other findings:

• Respondents were both optimistic in some ways — 89 percent said their support of a cause made a difference — and pessimistic, with 6 in 10 saying some social issues feel like “lost causes.”
• Generation Z respondents (ages 18 to 22) were less likely than millennials (ages 23 to 38) to support a cause by posting on social media.
• Generation Z was more likely to support causes in person by participating in activities like marches, protests, fundraising, or door-to-door canvassing.

Dan Parks is the Chronicle’s senior editor for digital and data.