Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 4/20/18



A new survey finds animal welfare, children’s education and hunger are the top three causes Americans currently care about.
Animal welfare is the most popular cause, followed by children’s education, hunger, disease research, disaster relief, and the environment, according to the study by global communications firm Ketchum. According to the poll, now in its third year: 

• Animal welfare is the No. 1 cause Americans are interested in supporting, selected by 41 percent of respondents. Animal welfare has been a perennial favorite, always residing in the top three.
• Children’s education is the second most important cause, with 38 percent of Americans interested in supporting it. Children’s education is consistently important with Americans, hovering between 35 and 38 percent over the study’s three years.
• Hunger, chosen by 33 percent in 2018, is the third post popular cause, dropping from No. 1 last year.
• Disaster relief (No. 5) bumped the environment out of the top five to the No. 6 position this year. Environmental issues dropped by 10 points in the last year, from being rated as important by 34 percent in 2017 to 24 percent in 2018.
The study revealed diverging opinions about the cause landscape according to generation, ethnicity and household income:

• Those 35 and older were more likely to identify animal welfare (43 percent) as a top cause, while young adults (ages 18 to 34) chose children’s education (44 percent) over animal welfare (37 percent).
• Although women are more likely than men (22 percent versus 11 percent) to show interest in women’s rights issues, the gender gap narrowed from 17 to 11 percentage points in the past year.
• While African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Caucasian Americans do not share the same list of top three causes, children’s education is a common thread across all three.
• People with a household income of $49,000 or less have the same list of top three causes as the general population, but those with a household income of $100,000 to $150,000 prioritize the environment over hunger.

The Ketchum Purpose study was conducted through an online survey of 1,000 Americans. In partnership with Ketchum Global Research and Analytics, Research Now conducted the survey Feb. 27 to March 1.

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