Thoughts on Charitable Giving

Giving USA recently released their 56th annual report on philanthropy.  They do a terrific job of estimating the amount of charitable giving in America and tracking it on an annual basis.  I think it's always a fascinating report to review, and this year was no exception.  For me, there are three main lessons this year:

1. "Revised" numbers confirm 2009 was a difficult year for non-profits, and the pain still isn't over.

The original estimate of charitable giving for 2009 was $303.75 Billion.  However, that number was revised down by 8% to $280.31 Billion.  While the reported number for 2010 "increased" $10.5 Billion to $290.89 Billion, this is still 4% lower than the original number reported for 2009.  The vast majority  of this revision was not allocated out to individual areas, but there were minor negative revisions in the religion, education, and human services categories.

2. Life for the upper class is getting back to normal while the lower class continues to struggle.

I know I'm generalizing here, but charitable giving continues to grow in areas attractive to some in the upper class.  International affairs, the arts, and gifts to private foundations all increased from 2009 levels.  On the other end of the spectrum, giving to Human Services was revised down by 2% from the original 2009 estimate.  In addition, the 2010 number in this category includes $1.07 Billion for relief in Haiti.  If this is taken out, 2010 giving in the Human Services category declined by 6.2% from the original 2009 estimate.  In other words, fewer private resources appear to be available to meet basic human needs of those among us who have the least.

3. Religion continues to be big business.

Giving to religious organizations continues to be very stable at approximately $100 Billion a year.  This is the single largest category, and is roughly the size of the next three categories (education, private foundations, and human services) combined.  Hopefully, this is the mitigating factor to the second point above as many religious organizations spend significant resources to help meet basic human needs.

One other quick thought on the subject of religious giving.  I like football as much as the next person (I'm a long suffering Minnesota Vikings fan), but I've started thinking about that $100 Billion a year Americans "spend" directly on religion every time I read an article on the NFL lockout and their difficulties as a $9 Billion a year business.  It just helps to understand what our priorities really are.

I find great hope that most charitable giving is still done by individuals rather than corporations or foundations.  Most people do not give to charity because of a marketing campaign.  They give money to ease suffering, provide opportunities to others, and create a better society.  While most charitable giving is not specifically noticed, I love reading the summary each year.