On Friday, June 29, the Hudson Institute released reports on charitable giving rates at their Giving USA event.

The new research found that individual donors accounted for the majority of charitable donations for a total of 73%. Charitable donations from foundations and bequests ranked behind individual donations at 14% and 8%, respectively. Donations from corporations were reported to be the least giving, contributing only 5% of all charitable donations in 2011.

Despite incrementally small increases in total dollars donated in 2010 from 2011, there has been a significant decrease in “major gifts” or donations of $1 million or more. As the Hudson Institute reports, the decline seen in major gifts is reminiscent of the decrease in major gifts during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. This most recent decline has been attributed to the economic recession that swept America in 2008.

While donation rates are growing, they are growing at a rate that would take America a decade to reach the giving level reported in 2007. This is bad news for nonprofits around the nation who rely on charitable donations. With stagnated growth in donations, nonprofit organizations are struggling to cover costs; forcing some to close their doors and causing others to revamp the way they fundraise.

Fundraising efforts have targeted potential donors with personal connections to the organization, such as board members. Other organizations, such as Wikipedia, are turning to social media to promote online fundraising campaigns. Wikipedia mobilized their users to donate after putting promotional banners at the top of each wiki search page. Utilizing technology in conjunction with fundraising efforts has also reached new heights through mobile campaigns such as donations via text message.

The 2012 Giving USA Report states that across the board, causes such as Education, Arts, and the Environment have seen relative gains in donations. Meanwhile causes such as Human Resources and International Relations have reached stagnation in donations.

At the conclusion of the event, Patrick Rooney (Executive Director, Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University), commented on the disparity between generations when it comes to giving. He characterized Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers as generations which give the most effectively- contributing both time and money. While he classified the Millennial generation as only willing to contribute their time, not their money.

These kinds of trends in giving could have significant implications for the future of the nonprofit sector. Here at NCoC, we want to know what you think:

How can the nonprofit sector use these findings to inform strategic planning and development efforts? Does this decline in donors create a new atmosphere of competition in the nonprofit sector? Is that a threat to the sector, or does heightened competition spark innovative fundraising and more focus on collaboration? How do we measure the value of one form of giving versus another (ie contributing time vs. money?)

Let us know your thoughts, submit a comment below!


(Audio and video recordings of the event will be available on the Hudson Institute website. )