News/Stats/Studies

Atlas of Giving Shows U.S. Charitable Giving Outpaced Economic Growth in 2011
January 23, 2012

Atlas of Giving announced results from its 2011 report on charitable giving. The report outlines charitable giving in the U.S. from 2011 and details how giving expanded at a faster rate than overall economic growth for the year. According to the report released by Atlas of Giving, total giving to U.S. nonprofits rose 7.5 percent in 2011, an increase of $24.2 billion over the 2010 total of $322.69 billion and its forecast shows that overall giving is expected to grow 3.9 percent in 2012 to $360 billion.

Nonprofits boosting Boston’s coffers
January 23, 2012

Boston nonprofits have boosted their voluntary contributions to city government over the past six months by 24 percent, advancing a longstanding goal of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, despite the misgivings of some institutions.

Since July, the city has received $9.4 million from tax-exempt institutions such as colleges, hospitals, and museums, a substantial increase over last year’s pace, according to the mayor’s office.

Garth Brooks takes stand in hospital donation lawsuit trial
January 23, 2012

Country music star Garth Brooks testified Friday in his lawsuit against Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon, Okla. He says the hospital went back on its word to name a new women's center after his late mother, Colleen Brooks.

Now he's asking the jury to order the hospital to return his donation. The hospital's president and CEO, James Moore, testified that the hospital and Brooks never reached a formal agreement or understanding about how his donation would be used, or what part of the hospital, if any, Brook's mother's name would be attached.

Nonprofits Added Jobs Faster Than Businesses Last Decade, Study Finds
January 20, 2012

Nonprofits added jobs at an average annual rate of more than 2 percent from 2000 to 2010, while for-profit jobs were cut by 0.6 percent each year on average, according to a new study by the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Even during the recession years of 2008 and 2009, charities increased their employment by nearly 2 percent, while for-profit jobs declined by nearly 4 percent, according to the report, which was based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Rollins Foundation gives $15 million to Emory
January 20, 2012

The Rollins family’s ongoing generosity to Emory University continued with a recent $15 million gift from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation of Atlanta.

The money will be used to build the second phase of the school’s new building program, Emory said.

“This gift allows Candler to provide state-of-the-art library and teaching facilities that are critical to fulfilling our mission of preparing faithful and creative leaders for the church’s ministries in the world,” said Jan Love, dean of Candler School of Theology, in a statement.

Fundraising Returns to Pre-Recession Levels, Blackbaud Index Finds
January 19, 2012

Blackbaud announced that fundraising has returned to pre-recession levels. Through the first 11 months of 2011, overall giving is up 3.4 percent over 2010, and is now officially above the level of giving last seen in 2007.

Chuck Longfield, Blackbaud's chief scientist and creator of The Blackbaud Index, noted that while giving is up, the increase is not uniform across all sub-sectors. However, most nonprofits saw greater stability and predictability in their 2011 fundraising than in the past few years.

Report Shows Foundation Funding of Advocacy Produces ROI of $115 to $1
January 19, 2012

Advocacy by 110 nonprofit organizations over a five-year period has brought more than $26.6 billion in benefits to low-wage workers, communities of color, rural residents and other marginalized groups, according to a new study from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.

The report, titled "Leveraging Limited Dollars: How Grantmakers Achieve Tangible Benefits by Funding Policy and Community Engagement," found that every dollar grantmakers and other donors invested in policy and civic engagement provided a return of $115 in benefit.

Kellogg Foundation Issues New Study Showing Demographic Changes In Giving
January 18, 2012

W.K. Kellogg Foundation released a new report, “Cultures of Giving: Energizing and Expanding Philanthropy by and for Communities of Color” with support from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. This new report shows how the face of philanthropy is changing rapidly to become as ethnically, culturally and socioeconomically diverse as our country’s population, with some of the most significant growth stemming from identity-based philanthropy — a growing movement to spark philanthropic giving from a community on behalf of a community, where “community” is defined by race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

PNC Wealth Management Study: 59% Of Millionaires Feel Obligation To Give Back
January 18, 2012

Despite continued economic woes, a majority of the nation's millionaires aren't cinching their purse strings when it comes to charitable giving.

Fifty-nine percent of millionaires agree they feel they have an obligation to give back to their community, according to a survey released Jan. 17 by PNC Wealth Management . The percentage remains the same as it was in 2008.

The study also revealed that 21 percent plan of these wealthy donors plan to increase their giving, while 22 percent of millionaires plan on cutting back the amount they give to charity. Forty-six percent plan no change.

Impact of a Spike in Year-End Gifts Remains Unclear
January 18, 2012

A late surge of contributions in the last weeks of 2011 has made many charities hopeful of continued fundraising growth this year. But the picture is mixed.

A Chronicle of Philanthropy survey of 153 charities found that 55 percent raised more last year than in 2010, while one-third took in less and 12 percent stayed even. What worries many organizations is that nearly 40 percent of nonprofits say contributions have not bounced back to the amount they raised before the recession started in 2007.