Latest in the Harvard stats emails:
Households increase their gifts to charity by nearly 1% for every 10% increase in home equity. That’s about 10 times the effect of increases in other types of wealth such as stocks and bonds, say Chau Do and Irina Paley of the U.S. Treasury. The finding may be ominous for charities: A long-lasting 20% decline in U.S. home equity would mean a $52-per-homeowner decrease in donations, or about $3.8 billion less for charities nationwide, the researchers say.
Source: Altruism from the house: The impact of home equity on charitable giving