MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2006--When it comes to supporting a charitable cause, American adults are more inclined to reach for their wallets than to roll up their sleeves, according to survey by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. This represents a reversal from a year earlier when a plurality of Americans said they found it easier to give their time than their money to charitable causes.

Half of all American adults (50 percent) said they found it easier to give their money than their time to a charitable cause, a jump of 13 percentage points from a year earlier. Conversely, about one in three Americans (32 percent) reported they believed it easier to volunteer their time, a decrease of 10 percentage points. Fourteen percent of respondents said they thought both forms of giving were equally easy.

Despite this attitude reversal on committing time to charitable causes, 57 percent of Americans still reported they volunteered in an activity sponsored by a third party, while 43 percent had not volunteered in a structured activity.

"While there are many possible reasons for the attitude reversal on volunteerism, 2005 was clearly a year when natural disasters in far away places made giving money the preferred method of support," said Brad Hewitt, Thrivent Financial senior vice president of volunteer programs. "That said, it's great to see that Americans continue to volunteer at the same rate as last year."

Young adults were most likely to say it is easier to give one's time than one's money (49 percent) to a charitable cause, while pre-retirees were most likely to say giving one's money was easier (56 percent). Similarly, while 64 percent of those living in the Northeast favored giving one's money, just 39 percent of Westerners agreed.

Telephone interviews were conducted for Thrivent Financial by Synovate TeleNation Research, Chicago, Ill., between Dec. 2-4, 2005, among a nationwide sample of 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. The margin of error for questions posed to all 1,000 respondents is +/- 3 percent.

For the full release, visit www.thrivent.com/newsroom.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 financial services membership organization.

Copyright Business Wire 2006

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