New Study: People Who Don't Support Nonprofits

"There are some industry consultants who act as though they have a magic bullet for attracting people to give," Sellers said. "Maybe that would be possible if there were only one perceptual obstacle. But non-donors often hold a combination of opinions that act as barriers to getting them to give.

"A majority of non-donors feel it should be someone else's responsibility to support nonprofits; someone with more money. The problem is, even the people with more money often claim they don't have enough to give, or that whatever they could afford to give wouldn't be enough to make a difference," he continued.

Sellers also pointed out that nonprofits themselves may not be blameless for the fact that many Americans aren't providing any financial support.