Charitable Choices

Arnold Dashefsky is professor of sociology and director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life at the University of Connecticut. Bernard Lazerwitz is professor of sociology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

• Chapter 1 Why People Give Charity: A Philanthropic Phenomenon Based on Consumer Spending, Situation, Self-Interest, or Socialization?Chapter 2 Is Charity Caring Compassion or Social Justice? The Case of the Jewish CommunityChapter 3 Sources of Philanthropic Giving: Evidence from the National Jewish Population SurveysChapter 4 The Three Faces of Giving: Donors, Affiliated, and UnaffiliatedChapter 5 Group Portraits in Three Dimensions: Comparisons and ContrastsChapter 6 Perceived Incentives and Barriers to GivingChapter 7 Twenty-first Century Realities: The Views of the Fundraising DirectorsChapter 8 Summary and Implications for Policy and Research

Dashefsky and Lazerwitz have amassed a treasure trove of information, both quantitative and qualitative, that enables the reader to understand not only who makes donations to Jewish charities and philanthropies, but why they give. The implications of their findings and the models they have constructed to explain them go well beyond the Jewish communities to just about any voluntary organization that relies on charitable giving for its lifeblood.