Fund raisers might want to be more concerned about shifting demographics than economic swings, Judith E. Nichols, deputy director for external affairs at the Brooklyn Public Library, told fund raisers on Friday.

While charitable giving historically tends to be affected less significantly than other sectors of the economy either by recessions or by economic booms, it has undergone tremendous changes in response to new generations and their changing attitudes toward philanthropy, said Ms. Nichols at a session of the Fundraising Day in New York, a conference sponsored by the Greater New York chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.