(see Poster Gallery) Donation and Volunteering of People with Disabilities: Does Disability Limit Giving?

Background and Purpose: Society seems to overlook the fact that people with disabilities could also work as actors in giving. Such misunderstandings and stereotypes appear in academics as well. There is only limited research that centers on people with disabilities as contributors. Therefore, this study challenges stereotypical views regarding giving behavior of people with disabilities and present evidence to value their active roles in giving.

Methods: First, the study reviewed existing literature for theoretical and empirical evidence on the giving behavior of people with disabilities. Second, the current situation and factors behind giving behaviors of people with disabilities were identified by the secondary data analysis of the 2019 Social Survey in Korea. For secondary data analysis, the SUR (Seemingly Unrelated Regression) Tobit model, which reflects the correlations between amount of monetary donations and volunteering hours, was conducted. Third, the study presented meaningful insights into academics and practices based on the analysis of giving behaviors among people with disabilities in Korea. In explaining the giving behaviors of people with disabilities, the theory of selective optimization with compensation (SOC) seemed to be relevant as it explains how an individual who experiences limited resources in life span selects the important objective out of many goals to maximize the desired outcome.

Results: The analysis showed that the annual average amount of giving of the people with disabilities was approximately 62,000 KRW (Korean won; approximately $51.52 USD) and the annual average hours of volunteering was about 3.7 hours. The amount of monetary donation did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups, but in volunteering time, volunteers with disabilities spent more hours than volunteers without disabilities. Based on these results, four findings were made. First, the analysis showed that the amount of monetary donations from people with disabilities was around one-third of amount from the people without disabilities, while hours of volunteering for people with disabilities was about 1.5 times longer than people without disabilities. Second, the findings in this study revealed that disability does not restrain giving and that cultural and social resources are key factors of giving behaviors of people with disabilities. While donors and volunteers with disabilities may have a lower level of overall human resources for sharing activities than those without disabilities, they allocate resources for giving through religious or social participation in order to give. Third, only employment status was associated with both monetary donation and volunteering hours. Education levels and household income seemed only associated with monetary donations, and residence seemed only associated with volunteering hours. Fourth, monetary donations and volunteering of people with disabilities showed mutual spillover effect. In other words, those who participate in either monetary donation or volunteering tend to take part in the other.

Conclusions and Implications: Based on these findings, the study identified the characteristics of philanthropic behavior of people with disabilities in Korea, presented academic and practical implications, and established an academic foundation that helps people with disabilities to contribute to philanthropy.