Individuals Make Fewer $1-Million Gifts; Grant Makers Help Offset Decline

“I was surprised that the decrease was not larger” last year, said Melissa Brown, the center’s associate director of research who analyzed the data.

The drop in individual gifts of $1-million or more, she noted, lags the start of the recession, not showing up as a double-digit decline until later in 2008. When all 12 months of last year were compared with the 2007 calendar year, the decline was a much smaller 8-percent dip.