Charitable Giving Rose 4% in 2011, Giving USA Reports
Giving USA has released some good news today in their 2011 Giving Report.
This morning at The Union League of Philadelphia, several organizations gathered to discuss the finding of the report.
In addition to summarizing the recent trends in overall giving — including specific giving trends by different types of nonprofit organizations — the report highlights some encouraging figures.
Giving has grown 4% in 2011 to $298.42 billion in contributions. This is especially positive as individuals, foundations, and corporations continue to be generous during a time of slow economic growth. However, a cautious celebration might be in order as 2011 saw a decrease in giving to religion and foundations.
Nevertheless, these estimates for charitable giving for 2011 reveal that Americans remain committed to the causes that are important to them.
Here’s a breakdown of the key findings, starting with the increases:
↑ Giving by individuals rose an estimated 3.9% in 2011 to $217.79 billion in contributions. Various economic indicators point to the increased confidence that individuals had in their financial future in 2011, providing explanation for the boost in giving by individuals.
↑ Giving by bequest increased an estimated 12.2% to $24.41 billion in 2011. The share of giving by bequest from itemizing estates was 85% of the total.
↑ Giving by foundations increased 1.8% to an estimated $41.67 billion in 2011, according to figures provided by the Foundation Center. However, adjusted for inflation, giving by foundations declined 1.3% in 2011.
↑ Giving to education is estimated to have increased 4% between 2010 and 2011 to $38.87 billion in contributions. Adjusted for inflation, giving to education organizations was flat at a .9% increase.
↑ Giving to human services rose an estimated 2.5% in 2011, totaling $35.39 billion. Adjusted for inflation, giving to human services organizations is estimated to have held flat between 2010 and 2011. Nevertheless, inflation-adjusted giving to these organizations is the third-highest amount ever recorded.
↑ Giving to health organizations is estimated to have increased 2.7% in 2011 from 2011, with $24.75 billion in total contributions. The 2011 Million Dollar List reports an 80% increase in the amount of announced million-dollar-and-up-gifts given by individuals to the health subsector in 2011 compared with 2010.
↑ Giving to public-society benefit organizations increased by an estimated 4% in 2011 to $21.37 billion from 2010. Adjusted for inflation, giving to public-society benefit organizations held flat at .9% growth between 2010 and 2011. The three largest donor-advised fund administrators–Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Schwab Charitable Fund, and Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program–realized average growth in received contributions of 77% between 2010 and 2011.
↑ Giving to arts, culture, and humanities is estimated to have increased 4.1% in 2011 from 2010, with $13.22 in total contributions. Adjusted for inflation, giving to the arts, culture, and humanities subsector is estimated to have increased 1.0%.
↑ Giving to international affairs is estimated to be $22.68 billion in 2011, an increase of 7.6% from 2010. Adjusted for inflation, giving to international affairs organizations is estimated to have risen 4.4% in 2011 from 2010.
↑ Giving to environmental and animal organizations is estimated to have increased 4.6% from 2010 to $7.81 billion in total contributions. Adjusted for inflation, donations to the environment/animal subsector are estimated to have increased 1.4% from 2010.
↑ Giving to individuals is estimated to have increased 9% from 2010 to $3.75 billion. The bulk of these donations are in-kind gifts of medications to patients in need made through Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) of pharmaceutical companies’ operating foundations.
≡ Giving by corporations is estimated to have held steady in 2011 compared with 2010, totaling $14.55 billion. This estimate includes giving by corporations and corporate foundations.
↓ Giving to religion decreased an estimated 1.7% from 2010, totaling to $95.88 billion in 2011. Inflation-adjusted giving to the religion subsector is estimated to have declined 4.7% from 2011.
↓ Giving to foundations is estimated to have declined by 6.1% in 2011 to $25.83 billion in contributions. Adjusted for inflation, giving to foundations is estimated to have declined by 8.9%.
Unallocated giving totaled $8.97 billion in 2011. This amount includes itemized deductions by individuals (and households) carried over from previous years, which is the difference in the tax year in which a gift is claimed by the donor and the year when the recipient organization reports it as revenue.
To download the free Executive Summary of Giving USA 2012, click here.
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