47% Of Unemployed To Donate To Charity During The Holidays: Razoo Study

Tough times don't necessarily equal tightened purse strings, according to a new study on charitable giving.

1 in 2 adults said they were likely or very likely to make a charitable donation during the holidays, with 47 percent of unemployed people saying they were probably going to give as well, according to a recent survey conducted by the online crowdsourcing platform Razoo.

These statistics should come as no surprise. A study conducted by the Chronicle of Philanthropy indicated that the middle-class gave more of their discretionary income to charity than rich people. Households that made $100,000 per year gave an average 4.2 percent of their discretionary income to charity, while those that made between $50,000 to $75,000 per year gave an average 7.6 percent, according to the site.

What's more, total giving by individuals added up to 88 percent of all charitable giving, according to the Giving USA Foundation. HuffPost blogger Lisa M. Dietlin pointed out the report showed headway in giving. She writes:

"The 2011 report shows some encouraging signs. Americans are continuing to give, they are feeling slightly more confident in doing so and they continue to believe in Making a Difference. While that is all good news, there is also the sobering news that the last two years, while showing increases in giving, represent the slowest recovery in 40 years after a recession. It's not surprising that as long as there is continued volatility in the economy, charitable giving will reflect this reality in the coming months."

Today, the need for individual donations is great, and personal giving should be encouraged, Bruce Katz, vice president at the Brookings Institution told the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

“We don’t have the welfare programs that we have had in the past. The need for individual giving is greater than it has been in modern memory,” he told the news outlet.

A new campaign called Giving Tuesday is making it easy for anyone from individuals to businesses to do just that. Giving Tuesday is a movement to move away from the consumerism surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday and to focus on giving back the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Check out some of the participating organizations and ways to give back here.