With apologies to David Letterman and Casey Kasem here are the top six reasons that motivate people to make charitable gifts according to an article by Alexandra P. Brovey – Senior Director of Gift Planning at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System Foundation in Great Neck, NY:

1. Gratitude
A large number of gifts are motivated by gratitude.  Donors are quick to give to charities or organizations that have directly assisted the donor or his family.  You can’t spell “selfless” without “self,” after all.

2. Religious Mandate
Most of the world’s religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam in particular – encourage charity as a virtue, or even God’s will.  Quite a powerful motivation.  In fact, the highest cited reason for giving between 1972 and the present is religion.

3. Altruism
Those who’ve experienced success (and, many times, those who haven’t) may want to give back to their communities or, perhaps, tackle a cause that simply speaks to them.  Often, someone who volunteers his time to an organization during life, includes it as a beneficiary in his will at death.

4. Set an Example
Most common among higher-net-worth families, parents may want to make donations or even create foundations as an example for their children.  Individuals who inherit their wealth are often raised with the expectation that they’ll engage in philanthropy, which is treated as both a family value and a tradition.

5. No Choice
Some donors simply believe they have no choice but to give.  Such situations can range in scope from the members of a charitable organization’s board feeling obligated to make gifts to the organization to relatives of children who have no choice but to buy some girl scout cookies from them.

6. Benefits From Giving Away Money
There are largely two types of benefits donors receive from giving: tangible and intangible.  Tangible benefits are obvious and generally involve some form of tax saving or your name on a building.  Intangible benefits are more personal and tougher to quantify, but may be as simple as the peace of mind one gains from helping others.