News/Stats/Studies

The field of religious advocacy has mushroomed on Capitol Hill in recent decades, a new survey shows, with the number of groups growing fivefold since 1970 and hundreds of millions spent each year to influence issues from school vouchers and immigration to the right of women overseas to have abortions.

The report, released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life, appears to be the most extensive research ever done on D.C.-based lobbyists and advocates on faith matters.

The survey identifies the work of 212 faith-oriented groups, which spend about $390 million per year.

Sage North America announced the results of its recently conducted Sage Nonprofit Insights, Q3 2011, survey of U.S. and Canadian nonprofit organizations, which focused on questions related to their year-end fundraising efforts.

According to the survey, organizations are generally optimistic about the final quarter of 2011, with a third (33%) saying they expect to raise more funds than they did in last year's final quarter.

Even as the nation weathers an economic downturn for a third straight holiday season, the majority of Americans are more committed than ever to charitable giving, according to a new American Red Cross poll.

A telephone survey of 1,020 adults conducted earlier this fall found that even though 67 percent of Americans didn’t think the economic downturn would last this long, they still want to give to charities, with more than seven out of 10 saying they expect to donate more or about the same this holiday season as they did last year.

The U.S. Postal Service ended its 2011 fiscal year with a net loss of $5.1 billion. The year-end loss would have been approximately $10.6 billion had it not been for passage of legislation that postponed a congressionally mandated payment of $5.5 billion to pre-fund retiree health benefits.

Total 2011 mail volume declined by 3 billion pieces, or 1.7 percent, from 2010. The Postal Service’s largest and most profitable product, First-Class Mail, continued its year-over-year decline, from $34.2 billion in 2010 to $32.2 billion in 2011 (5.8 percent).

Charity Dynamics announced the addition of nonprofit special event fundraising expert Cassidy Richards as a senior member of the company’s growing consulting practice. Richards joins the company from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, where she served for nearly five years, most recently in the position of national event director. With Crohn’s & Colitis, Richards led the launch of the Foundation’s highly-successful multi-affiliate fundraising walk campaign, Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis, which has raised more than $32 million since it launched four years ago.

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) announced that cash charitable giving to ECFA members continues to be very strong, totaling $9.38 billion last year, a 5.8 percent increase from the 2009 level of $8.87 billion.

ECFA's second Annual State of Giving Report showed charitable contributions held up especially well among larger charities. Donations to ECFA-member organizations with more than $10 million in annual revenue increased 6.7 percent in 2010, compared with 2009, while organizations with less than $10 million in annual revenue increased 1.6 percent during the same span.

The White House and a coalition of nonprofits plan to start a new effort to improve the quality and diversity of nonprofit leaders following a daylong program in Washington, D.C.

The Initiative for Nonprofit Talent and Leadership will be led by Independent Sector in collaboration with the White House. Also among the sponsors are American Express, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Aspen Institute Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation, the Center for Creative Leadership, Commongood Careers, and Public Allies.

The Alliance for Global Good, a grant-making organization in Greensboro, N.C., is starting a fund to promote innovation in philanthropy. While the exact size of the fund hasn’t been decided, organization officials say it is likely to be in the $10-million range. The alliance hopes that the fund will draw attention to charities that have found new approaches to tough problems and provide money to help them expand their work, says David M. Brand, the organization’s chief executive.

The nonprofit world is going viral. New media — Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube, vivid photography and interactive content — is quickly becoming part of the effort to educate and win donors.

Organizations such as Make-A-Wish, the Florida Youth Orchestra and Jewish Community Services, to name a few, are taking full advantage, with assistance from tech-savvy companies like Content Creators and colleges like St. Thomas University.

The Foundation of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey announced a $1 million gift from the Wakefern Food Corp. to support university research, scholarship or community service programs.

The gift, to be donated to the New Jersey Health Foundation and its affiliate, the Foundation of UMDNJ, establishes the Dean Janeway Endowment to Advance Healthcare Excellence in honor of the retiring Wakefern president and chief operating officer.