Two-thirds of Asian American adults say they have volunteered or made a donation through a charitable organization in the United States, their Asian ancestral homeland or both places in the 12 months before the survey, which was conducted July 2022 through January 2023.2 Among these adults:
- 46% say they have given to a charity only in the U.S.
- 17% say they have given to charities in both the U.S. and their Asian country of origin.
- 3% say they have given to a charity only in their Asian country of origin.
Charitable giving patterns vary by several demographic factors and Asian Americans’ links to their ancestral homelands.
Charitable giving in the U.S.
Overall, nearly two-thirds of Asian American adults (64%) say they have volunteered or made a donation through a charitable organization in the U.S. in the 12 months prior to the survey.
By origin
Across the six largest Asian origin groups in the United States, majorities say they have given to a U.S. charity.
About seven-in-ten Japanese (72%), Filipino (70%) and Indian (68%) adults say this. Somewhat smaller shares of Korean (65%), Vietnamese (61%) and Chinese (58%) adults say the same.
By nativity
Similar shares of immigrant and U.S.-born Asian adults say they have given to a charitable organization in the U.S. (63% and 67%, respectively).
Among immigrants, longtime residents of the U.S. are more likely than more recent arrivals to say they have volunteered or donated:
- 71% of those who have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years say they have done so.
- 54% of those who have lived in the U.S. for 20 years or less say the same.
Among those born in the U.S., 74% of third- or higher-generation and 65% of second-generation Asian adults say they have given to a U.S. charity in the year before the survey.
By education
About three-quarters of Asian adults with a postgraduate degree (76%) say they have given to a charitable organization in the U.S. By comparison, fewer than half of Asian adults with a high school diploma or less (44%) say they have done this.
By income
Asian adults with higher incomes are more likely than others to say they have given to a U.S. charity. About eight-in-ten Asian adults with a family income of $150,000 or more (79%) say they have done so. Meanwhile, 35% of those with a family income of less than $30,000 say the same.
By religion
Among major religious groups, Asian American Christians are more likely than Buddhists and religiously unaffiliated Asians – those who identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – to say they have recently given to a U.S. charitable organization.
Differences also emerge based on the importance of religion in Asian Americans’ lives. Those who say religion is very important in their life are more likely to make charitable donations than those who say it is not too or not at all important (70% vs. 59%).
Charitable giving in ancestral homelands
One-in-five Asian adults in the U.S. say they have volunteered or made a donation through a charitable organization in their Asian ancestral homeland in the 12 months prior to the survey.
By origin
About a third of Indian American adults (31%) and about a quarter of Vietnamese American adults (24%) say they have given to a charity in their Asian origin country. One-in-ten Chinese adults and 6% of Japanese adults say the same.
By nativity
Roughly a quarter of Asian immigrants (23%) say they have given to a charitable organization in their ancestral homeland in the year before the survey. U.S.-born Asian adults are less likely to say the same (11%).
Among U.S.-born Asian adults, those who are second generation are more likely than third- or higher-generation Asian Americans to say they have given to a charity in the Asian country they or their ancestors are from (13% vs. 5%).
By family ties and views of ancestral homeland
Among Asian adults who have immediate family still living in their ancestral homeland in Asia, 26% say they have given to a charity based there in the year before the survey. Meanwhile, 13% of Asian adults who do not have immediate family living there say the same.
In the same survey, we asked respondents their opinion of the places in Asia to which many Asian Americans trace their heritage (including China, India and Japan). Among Asian adults whose place of origin we asked about, those who see their ancestral homeland more favorably are also more likely to say they have volunteered or donated through a charity there:
- 22% of those who have a favorable opinion of their ancestral homeland say they have donated to a charity there in the year before the survey.
- 12% of those with a neutral opinion and 13% who hold an unfavorable opinion say the same.
By education and income
Whether Asian adults have given to a charity in their Asian country of origin does not vary significantly by education and income level. About a quarter or fewer of Asian adults across education and income groups say they have given to an organization in their country of origin in the 12 months prior to the survey.
By religion
About four-in-ten Asian Hindus and Muslims say they have volunteered or donated through a charitable organization in their Asian ancestral homeland in the 12 months before the survey. A smaller share of Asian adults who are religiously unaffiliated say the same.
Asian Americans’ charitable giving in their Asian country of origin also varies by how important religion is in their lives:
- 29% of those who say religion is very important have given to a charity in their Asian origin country in the 12 months before the survey.
- 12% of those who say religion is not too or not at all important in their life have done the same.
