New Report - U.S. Giving Surpasses $300 Billion
by Ashley High

Despite the declining economy, U.S. giving in 2008 surpassed $300 billion for the second year in a row. According to Giving USA 2009, giving totaled $307.65 billion. While contributions did fall, they only declined by 2%, which was considerably less extreme than some had predicted.

 

Edith Falk, CEO and Chair of Campbell and Company, said, “We’ve heard a lot about this being the worst economy since the Great Depression, so many people anticipated a much larger falloff in philanthropy. These results show that Americans remain committed to supporting the organizations that are important to them.”

 

The Giving USA 2009 study, which was released today, included these highlights:

• “Philanthropy constituted 2.2 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, fairly consistent with past years, which suggests that donors continue to place a high priority on giving.
  
• Religion received the largest share of contributions in 2008 (35 percent), and giving to religion increased 5.5 percent (in current dollars). 
  
• Giving to public-society benefit organizations rose 5.4 percent.  This sector includes a range of organization types, such as the United Way and groups engaged in voter registration, which were particularly active in 2008.
  
• Giving to international affairs organizations rose 0.6 percent, continuing a recent upward trend but slowing considerably from the 16.1 percent increase recorded in 2007.
  
• Contributions to all other sectors fell, with the largest decline (12.7 percent) in human services.  At the same time, 54 percent of human service organizations saw an increase in the demand for their services, according to a survey of the sector conducted for the Giving USA 2009 report.
  
• Individuals remained the largest source of contributions, accounting for 75 percent of all charitable giving in 2008 and 88 percent when factoring in family foundation and bequest giving.
  
• Foundation grant-making increased 3 percent (in current dollars), although giving from all other types of donors declined.  Foundation grants accounted for more than 13 percent of total charitable giving, and the Foundation Center estimates that grant-making in 2008 surpassed all prior records.
  
• Giving from corporations, which includes corporate foundations, fell 4.5 percent, the largest decline of all types of donors.  However, it is estimated that corporate profits fell by more than 4.5 percent.”

Peter Fissinger, President of Campbell and Company said, "The fact that Americans gave more than $300 billion last year, while the country was entering this recession, underscores the generosity of this country. But we are still in a recession and need to keep working to make our messages heard by current and prospective donors.  This means managing budgets carefully, focusing on fundraising fundamentals and asking people to give for the right reasons. Many fundraising operations are leaner than a year ago.  We have to keep trying to do more with less."

As announced in an earlier article, to learn more about the Giving USA 2009 survey, register for Campbell & Company’s free webinar on Thursday, June 11 at noon (Central Time, US).

 

Information taken from: Campbell and Company. <www.campbellcompany.com>.

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