News/Stats/Studies

Monday, Alaska's nonprofit organizations had reason to rejoice as the Department of Revenue released preliminary numbers showing they will receive a record amount of money through the Pick. Click. Give. program.

The program allows Alaskans to donate a portion of their dividend to a local nonprofit group when they sign up online for the annual payment to citizens of a portion of income from the state's Permanent Fund.

This year, just fewer than 19,000 people gave $1.5 million.

Even as the economy continues its slow recovery, many nonprofit organizations have a renewed sense of optimism, according to the United Way’s eighth annual Non-Profit Pulse Survey.

While many organizations have developed creative ways to do more with less, concerns linger over public sector funding, increased demand for services and general uncertainty over the future.

Susan Dunn, president and CEO of the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, said she was surprised by the increase in optimism in Hartford-area nonprofits from those surveyed.

Billions of dollars in arts funding is serving a mostly wealthy, white audience that is shrinking while only a small chunk of money goes to emerging art groups that serve poorer communities that are more ethnically diverse, according to a report released Monday.

The report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a watchdog group, shows foundation giving has fallen out of balance with the nation's increasingly diverse demographics. The report was provided to The Associated Press before its release.

President Obama’s plan to limit the value of charitable deductions for wealthy people would cost nonprofits at least $2.9-billion and perhaps as much as $5.6-billion, according to a study to be unveiled Friday by the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy and paid for by a $1-million research grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Economists examined how people would be affected by Obama’s plan to limit to 28 percent the amount affluent people could write off in all itemized deductions.

Despite an ailing economy, the third annual Day of Giving in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties set a fundraising record. Hours before Tuesday's midnight deadline to make a contribution, more than $4.05 million was donated.

Last year, the 24-hour total for Allegheny County was $2.8 million, plus a $500,000 match from foundations. In Westmoreland County, a total of $300,000 was raised.

Earlier in the day, Grant Oliphant, the president and CEO of The Pittsburgh Foundation, which sponsors the Day of Giving, was confident that donors would be generous.

Social media is becoming an essential part of charity fundraising, according to a paper from the Institute for Philanthropy.

Philanthropy and Social Media gives advice to charities and funders on how to use social media for activities including fundraising, connecting with supporters and delivering their services.

It says social media is beoming increasingly important in driving donations. "There are organisations, groups and individuals who are using these tools to great effect," the report says. "Some have completely revolutionised their work by using social media.

Known to some as Pakistan's Mother Teresa, Abdul Sattar Edhi is a humanitarian light in a violent and troubled land. The vast majority here struggle daily in a moribund economy. Natural disasters are common. Poverty, political instability, corruption, and attacks by Islamic militants, criminals and political enforcers are facts of life.

Donations to the Edhi Foundation fund hundreds of centers nationwide for orphans, senior citizens, drug abusers, the mentally disabled, abused women, even injured animals. It operates hospitals, mobile dispensaries, free kitchens, helicopters, airplanes and hundreds of "little white" ambulances resembling oversize bread boxes.

As philanthropic giving among Asia’s wealthy grows across the region, a shift to a structured and focused approach to charity is also starting to take place. This is one of the key findings of Something’s gotta give: The state of philanthropy in Asia, a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, commissioned by HSBC Private Bank.

The report shows that a number of leading Asian philanthropists are starting to emphasise innovation, scale and measurable results in the execution of their philanthropy, aiming to make a long-term impact on the region’s social issues.

Convio released the results of its annual Peer-to-Peer Event Fundraising Benchmark™ Study. The benchmarks offered in the study reflect in-depth research of 48 nonprofit organizations and more than 1,800 fundraising events in the U.S. and Canada that utilize Convio TeamRaiser™. The report provides information that nonprofits can use to measure their success as well as learn about trends and best practices in event fundraising that they can leverage, adapt and use to increase the number of participants and funds raised through peer-to-peer fundraising events.

Fannie Mae and the Freddie Mac Foundation, the Washington, D.C. area’s two biggest contributors to local charities, will probably end their philanthropy in the next few years, with troubling consequences for nonprofit groups that focus on education and human services for the poor, children and families, predicts a study by George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis.

The two federal housing financing corporations gave nearly $100 million to 500 local organizations in the past four years, but they significantly cut their donations after the housing bust and financial crisis hit in 2008.