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Researchers have estimated that the baby boomer generation gives more money to charity than any other generation, about $47 billion a year. A big number, sure, but recall how this generation got its name (hint: something to do with a record number of babies being born around the same time).

"Of course the baby boomers are going to give more money than any other generation," said Robert F. Sharpe Jr., a consultant to nonprofit groups. The real question is whether they are giving more per person. And the evidence so far, Mr. Sharpe said, suggests that they are not.

There are a number of things that might explain this, he said. Boomers tend to have started their careers — and their families — later than those before them, which may push back the time when they hit their peak earnings and the time when they get their homes to themselves again. Beyond that, more divorces and second families put a strain on their finances. And in recent years, of course, the recession and declining home values have made things even tighter.

Some groups whose goals speak to the children of the 1960s, like environmental organizations, have done well at attracting boomer donations, Mr. Sharpe said. But in general, charities have had a tough time connecting.

Part of the challenge is establishing relationships with people who may be more responsive to newer media than to direct mail and cold calling, and who may not even have a landline. And part of it is that boomers tend to be more highly educated, making them more analytical about which groups they want to give to — and, perhaps more skeptical. They grew up with 30-second ads, noted the report on generational giving, prepared by Convio, which provides software services to nonprofit groups. "They know when they are being sold, because they grew up being sold," it said.

Still, there are signs that a generation once known for its deeply felt views may be taking out its checkbook, however belatedly. "A lot of them, when they are in their 60s, they're putting their money where their mouth is," Mr. Sharpe said.

Robert T. Grimm Jr., director of the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park, also pointed to encouraging signs for charities. Among them: research showing that boomers are giving their time to community groups at higher rates than past generations. "Giving and volunteering behaviors go largely hand in hand," Mr. Grimm said in an e-mail.

And however cautious their higher education levels may make boomers about committing to a charity, the general rule has been that the more education people have, the more they are likely to donate. Some think that will prove the case with boomers. So while they may end up coming to the table later than other generations, when they do they may stay there longer and keep giving past the age when finances used to force many people to cut back. "What's interesting about boomers," Mr. Grimm said, "is that a large percentage of them say they want to continue to work into their 60s and 70s."

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Booming: Living Through the Middle Ages offers news and commentary about baby boomers, anchored by Michael Winerip. You can follow Booming via RSS here or visit nytimes.com/booming. You can reach us by e-mail at booming@nytimes.com.