News/Stats/Studies

Household income and education levels are usually the key elements fund raisers use to figure out who is most likely to give, but it turns out something else is more important: whether a potential donor’s parents were involved in charitable causes.

According to a GuideStar report, 40 percent of respondents saw further declines in contributions in the first five months of 2010, while 63 percent saw an increase in demand for their services, putting even more pressure on fundraisers.

A new research study was released today that may change the way many nonprofits approach their fundraising budgets. The report, Heart of the Donor: Insights Into Donor Motivation and Behavior for the 21st Century, uncovers valuable insights on donor behavior and preferences as well as insight into age, demographics and other factors.

With the battle over whether to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy shaping up as the major political event of the fall, opponents of repeal were handed a bounteous gift this summer when Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and 38 others announced that they formed a pact to give at least half their wealth to charity. After all, what better illustration could there be of the great social good that wealthy people can do when the government lets them keep their hard-earned dollars to spend as they please? The problem is that the exceptional philanthropy of the superwealthy

(Source: MARKETWIRE)GuideStar USA, Inc. -- the leading source of nonprofit information -- today announced the results of its first economic survey of public charity and private foundations in 2010, which show that the nonprofit sector continued to take a beating in the wake of one of the nation's worst economic downturns. About 40 percent of respondents have seen a further decline in contributions in the first five months of 2010 compared to the first five months of 2009. At the same time, a majority (63 percent) have seen an increase in demand for their services. "Our survey echoes what

Better Business Bureau of Southeast Texas News Release You Too Can Donate Like a Billionaire BBB Wise Giving Alliance recommends donors research charities fully before they give, just like billionaires do Beaumont, Texas – Forty billionaires have pledged to donate a substantial portion of their wealth to charity with the hope of inspiring others to donate to worthy causes as well. While the dollar amount might be less, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance encourages everyone to give like a billionaire by researching any charity fully before making a donation. “Every experienced philanthropist has a thorough process for vetting charities

The Commissioner of Charities' latest annual report, released on Tuesday, showed that individual donations reached $240 million, up from $211 million in 2008 - a 13.7 per cent increase. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN INDIVIDUAL tax-deductible donations to charities rose last year, despite the economic recession. The Commissioner of Charities' latest annual report, released on Tuesday, showed that individual donations reached $240 million, up from $211 million in 2008 - a 13.7 per cent increase. Public generosity also extended to foreign causes, said the report. The expected amount raised for such causes was $25.6 million last year, up

Donations to victims of the worst oil spill in U.S. history pale in comparison to other recent disasters, a development some philanthropy experts attribute to the blame factor.

While there are no up-to-date authoritative figures on the total amount of corporate and individual donations to Gulf victims and restoration projects, observers say it's clear that giving is significantly less than the charitable response to disasters like the Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Sept. 11 attacks and the Asian tsunami.

The economy continues to cause the biggest donors to cut back on giving, a new study finds. The study of nearly 7,000 donors found a split between typical donors — those whose smallest gift was $81 — and more affluent donors, whose smallest gift was $135.

Only 8 percent of typical donors said they plan to give less in 2010, down from 17.5 percent last year. But among affluent donors, 11 percent said they'll give less this year overall and 17 percent of the top 10 percent of donors who gave the most money to charity.

The average FY2009 total return on investable assets for 85 nonprofit health care organizations participating in the 2010 Commonfund Benchmarks Study of Healthcare Organizations was 18.8 percent (net of fees), a dramatic improvement over the -21.2 percent return reported for FY2008. The FY2009 return was the highest in the eight years the study has been conducted and came in the year following the poorest return of the eight Studies.