A majority of wealthy Americans has maintained a sense of obligation to give financially to their communities amid the economic doldrums, but more than one in four have cut their giving, judging by a recent survey.

The sixth annual Wealth and Values Survey, sponsored by Philadelphia-based PNC Wealth Management, a member of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., included responses from more than 1,000 people, all of whom have at least $500,000 in investable assets. The survey found that, despite the recession, the sense of giving hasn't dropped significantly from previous years, when times were better.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said, "I have an obligation to give back financially to my community," down only slightly from 58 percent in 2008, and almost identical to 2006 and 2007, when 54 percent answered positively.

At the same time, the recession has created concern among the wealthy about their ability to continue to give as they have in the past.

Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed said they already have cut or plan to cut back the total amount of charitable giving in response to the economic climate. That compares with just 13 percent who said they have increased, or plan to increase, their giving.

Twenty-four percent of the ultrawealthy—who have $5 million or more in investable assets—are concerned about their ability to give to charities, compared with 16 percent of those with $500,000 to $1 million in assets.

"The economy has forced a fundamental shift in how the wealthy approach their philanthropic activities," says Bruce Bickel, senior vice president of PNC Wealth Management. "In many cases they are refining their giving to reflect the potential for greater impact to specific issues that are most meaningful to them, sometimes restricted by geographical preferences. They are purposefully becoming more mission-driven and governed less by emotion."

Bickel, who manages 23 family foundations through PNC Wealth Management, says individuals or families looking to re-evaluate their giving should determine the legacy they want to perpetuate, the values they want to preserve, and the area of society they want to promote.

"The top priority is to identify family values before determining what dollar amounts they want to distribute," he says.

PNC Financial Services Group claims it is one of the nation's largest financial-services organizations providing retail and business banking, specialized services for corporations and government entities, and wealth-management, asset-management, and global-fund services. The Wealth and Values Survey was commissioned by PNC to identify attitudes about wealth among high-net-worth individuals, how that wealth affects their lives, and their needs in managing wealth.