News/Stats/Studies

Struggling nonprofit organizations in Indiana are turning away from bake sales and chili suppers and turning to gambling as a way to make it through the difficult economic times. An increasing number of nonprofits in the state have applied for and received “charity gaming” licenses, hoping to cash in on the millions of dollars waged every year on bingo games, raffles, pull tabs and even water races.

During the first full year of the deepest recession since the Great Depression, church giving in 2008 as a percentage of congregation members’ take-home pay sank to its lowest point in the past decade, according to a report released Monday. It declined to 2.43 percent, equal to the second-lowest drop since 1968, when the data were first tracked; 1992 had the lowest, with 2.41 percent.

Both fundraising revenue and donor growth remain flat from the first half of 2009 to the first half of 2010, according to the 2010 Target Analytics donorCentrics Index of National Fundraising Performance: 2010 Second Quarter Results report.

Nonprofit groups are facing a growing wave of problems with the way the government processes and awards contracts that are supposed to help these groups provide services to the needy, according to a new report by the National Council of Nonprofits.

In the report—“Costs, Complexification, and Crisis: Government’s Human Services Contracting 'System’ Hurts Everyone”—the council says these problems have been exacerbated by the bad economy.

A new report released by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) reveals the promise of philanthropic equity for the nonprofit sector. NFF Capital Partners’ Portfolio Performance Report, which analyzes the role of philanthropic equity in the nonprofit sector based on its own engagements, found that philanthropic equity has, on average, more than tripled program delivery, and doubled revenue for nonprofit organizations that have conducted comprehensive philanthropic equity campaigns.

Advocacy is a growing part of the work of philanthropy, and groups in the Northwest have seen a significant return on investment for their efforts, according to the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.

It's also a unique strength of the region, said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based organization that measures philanthropy's impact on public needs. Dorfman was in Washington state this week to discuss a study his group has done of 20 community organizations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

The most recent Donor Confidence Report by marketing research firm Campbell Rinker shows that donor confidence is the lowest since 2008.

Foundation leaders are starting to use social media but not yet making it a regular part of their work, a new report says.

While many foundation executives regularly use more traditional social media like e-newsletters and Listerves, much fewer leaders are using so-called "Web 2.0" applications such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Podcasts on a regular basis, says the report by the Foundation Center.

Donors are less sure than they were in June about their economic future and even less confident about their charitable giving, according to a new poll.

The Donor Confidence Index compiled by Campbell Rinker, a marketing-research company, fell 3.2 points in August to 86.5 out of a 100, a score that is lower than at any other point since December 2008.

There's much debate underway regarding the effectiveness of traditional fundraising sources. We're hearing a lot about social media, the importance of websites, emerging technologies and the transitioning of direct mail to electronic media.