Special To The Citizen In the wake of serious problems in the financial and credit markets, large government bailouts and a slumping economy, nearly 75 percent of Floridians taking part in the 3rd annual Leadership Florida Sunshine State Survey say they have donated money to a charitable organization in 2008. Overall, 48 percent of Floridians were giving more or the same amount to charity in 2008, while 26 percent are giving less, and 25 percent are not giving at all. Those giving “more” or “the same” over 2008 were more likely to be over the age of 50 (49 percent), those with at least some college education (54 percent), men (51 percent), and those earning more than $50,000 (61 percent). “Individual donors are critical to the preservation of our social safety net and historically rise to the occasion when needed most. The fact that almost half of Floridians will increase or maintain previous giving levels this year demonstrates the deep appreciation and understanding that residents have for the importance of the nonprofit sector,” said Katie Ensign, president of Florida Philanthropic Network and survey underwriter. Floridians also have maintained their high level of civic activism and community involvement, with 90 percent saying they’ve helped a neighbor and 66 percent having joined an organization within the past year. The results are very similar to previous years, with a noticeable increase (perhaps election year generated) in “grass roots” political activism. Those who worked in a campaign increased from 8 percent to 13 percent and those who have gone door-to-door for a political group or candidate jumped from 8 percent to 12 percent. Civic activism remains generally higher among registered voters, those with college degrees, and those making more than $100,000 per year. It also remains higher among those under the age of 65 than among the state’s senior citizens, with one major exception those over the age of 65 are more likely to contribute money. A significant 63 percent of Floridians say they pay attention to government and public affairs “most of the time,” while 37 percent say they do so only “some of the time,” “only now and then,” or “hardly at all.” These results are generally the same as in 2007. Those who pay attention to government and public affairs “most of the time” are more likely to be men (64 percent), those over the age of 50 plus (67 percent), college graduates (72 percent) and those who earn at least $75,000 (69 percent). Eighty percent of those taking part in the survey said that they are registered to vote. Of the 20 percent who said they are not registered, 45 percent say they aren’t registered because they have no interest in politics, a change from 49 percent in 2007. Survey responders have less faith in business community and government leaders than they did in 2007. The overall job ratings of “excellent” or “good” for business community leaders dropped from 44 percent to 36 percent, and for government leaders, “excellent” or “good” ratings dropped from 34 percent to 29 percent. The ratings for social service and nonprofit leaders dropped only one percentage point. When asked which one quality is most important for a good leader to have, “Integrity” remained at the top of the list. “Intelligence” continued to be cited second most often, but moved from 11 percent to 15 percent, and “Vision” remained third, moving in importance from 6 percent to 12 percent. Fulfilling Leadership Florida’s role as the convener of discussion on important statewide issues, the Sunshine State Survey establishes longitudinal trends, and is a valuable tool for public policy makers, non-profits, academics, and the media. A total of 1,200 Florida residents were interviewed statewide by phone as part of this third annual survey. The survey was conducted November 17 through November 23, 2008 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C. You can download the survey at Leadership Florida’s website, www.leadershipflorida.org/survey/bizgovtcivic.