Giving USA

The Great Receipt Experiment (Grizzard)

Take a look at this fund raiser’s experiment with receipts (and make sure to send your thank yous!)

http://www.grizzard.com/the-great-receipt-experiment/

New Spotlight on Women as Philanthropists

Giving USA has made available a 10-page newsletter, Women as Philanthropists, which takes the reader in-depth to explore the differences in giving by gender.

It debunks several myths about women as donors, including desire for recognition, size of the gifts made by women, and the reasons (emotional vs. business-focused) women have for giving.

This publication includes facts about women’s income and wealth and women’s roles in making very large gifts.

Other information in this Spotlight include:

- What NOT to do when cultivating women as donors;

- Engagement strategies and suggestions for developing women into donors to your organization;

- The importance of information networks to women donors;

- Women as participants in social networking sites;

- Women’s roles as charitable giving decision-makers;

- The importance of youth philanthropy to women donors.

Charts included in this publication provide insight into the differences in TYPE of organization supported by men and by women.

Additional charts illustrate the likelihood of giving by single men and single women by income range.

The electronic publication costs $15 and is available at the Giving USA website store (please scroll down for full product description).

Giving USA’s Press Release on Giving by Millennials

Want to attract Millennial donors? Understand what they have to contribute.

New study highlights differences between generations and their attitudes toward giving

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 14, 2010) — A new report published by Giving USA Foundation and researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University highlights the differences – and challenges – in reaching “Millennial” donors – adults born since 1981.

Because the majority of Millennials and even Gen Xers (born 1964 to 1980) have lower income than their parents and grandparents, they tend to give smaller amounts of money to charitable causes, whether secular or religious, the study found. One conclusion? Engage the younger generation as volunteers.

“A wise fundraiser might ask ‘why should I target the younger generations at all, if they don’t give at the same levels as other age groups?,’” said Edith Falk, chair of Giving USA Foundation. “The answer would be that Generation X is now entering its peak earning years and the Millennials are not far behind. Engaging people under 45 now as donors and volunteers using methods that appeal to their giving nature truly makes sense.”

Una Osili, Ph.D., director of research at the Center on Philanthropy added, “The data are clear: The average person under 30 may have lower income and wealth (compared to older groups).  However, ideas, enthusiasm, and energy are important for charities. A relationship formed now based on volunteering can become a strong donor relationship as a person’s income grows over time.”

The most current data from Center on Philanthropy Panel Study forms the dataset used for analysis. In this nationally representative sample of households, based on contributions in 2006:

- 33 percent of households headed by a Millennial gave, and the average total contributions were $557.

- 59 percent of households headed by a member of Gen X gave, and the average total contributions were $1,488.

- 69 percent of households headed by a Boomer gave, and the average total contributions were $2,613.

- 77 percent of households headed by someone born before 1946 gave, and the average total contributions were slightly lower than Boomers’ average, at $2,540.

In addition to summarizing findings about generations’ charitable giving habits and attitudes, the report includes conclusions and recommendations from other studies about generational differences in giving and from members of Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Nonprofits.

The report, entitled “Charitable Giving and the Millennial Generation,” is available for purchase ($15) and immediate download in the Spotlight e-newsletter section of the on-line store at www.givingusareports.org.

For more information, contact:

Sharon Bond

847-530-1549

sharon@gooddogpr.com

or    Adriene Davis

317/278-8972

adrldavi@iupui.edu

A visualization of Giving USA data from Tactical Philanthropy

Here is a visualization from Sean Stannard-Stockton of Giving USA 2010 data on his blog at www.tacticalphilanthropy.com.

The visual was originally published at USA Today, but take note of Sean’s analysis.

Giving USA in USA Today

USA Today’s fall Sharing in the USA special section (out today) features Giving USA:

The Center on Philanthropy’s director of research Una Osili is quoted and Giving USA is cited in an article reporting that Americans plan to maintain their level of charitable giving during the holidays.

Our research on giving, including Giving USA, is featured prominently in  a set of graphics on Giving by the Numbers.

Foundations and the Economic Crisis

Readers,

You might be interested in reading an update from Foundation Center via the Philanthropy News Digest’s blog here, entitled Foundations and the Economic Crisis: An Update.

Giving by Foundations now available

The topical digest, Giving by Foundations, is now available! This is the digest that Giving USA purchasers voted upon as the one they next would like to see.

Next items in line for publication include:

- Spotlight newsletter on giving by people of different generations

- Spotlight newsletter on giving by gender

- Topical digest on giving to the arts

- Spotlight newsletter on regional differences in giving

Pre-ordering open for Giving by foundations

The most requested topical digest by current purchasers is now available for pre-order at the Giving USA 2010 store.

Giving by foundations, featuring data from the Foundation Center and other organizations, provides a telling summary of giving by foundations through the economic downturn.

Order your online copy today for $8.00. Electronic publishing of the digest is scheduled to take place within two weeks.

Update – September

Since its early June launch, a number of activities have heightened recognition of Giving USA 2010, including over 2,000 media mentions. One of the best examples of media use of Giving USA is numerous citations in conjunction with the announcement of The Giving Pledge. Appearances by Center on Philanthropy staff members—on broadcast television, radio, in-person and through the Internet—continue to inform current and new audiences about the availability and the results of the research.

The move to an electronic publication and staggered publishing of the topical digests means that staff can continue sending the message about Giving USA and its resources. We are using email communications, the blog, and Twitter, among other tools, to get the word out about Giving USA, its benefits, and its many components. In addition, the team is focusing on providing excellent customer service to buyers and to casual inquiries.

Giving USA editor to be featured on nonprofit fundraising radio show

Giving USA Managing Editor Melissa S. Brown will be featured on the Nonprofit Spark, an Internet radio show, on Thursday, September 23, 2010. The program will provide an overview of nonprofit fundraising; Melissa will discuss “who gives what and to whom” in the United States and will describe some of the resources available at The Fund Raising School at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The show will air at 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time and Melissa’s interview will take place at around 1:30 p.m. CDT. The program airs on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel. Here’s the link to the show:  http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=48462  

Media related to international aid and Pakistan

In the spirit of our newly released topical digest, Giving to International Affairs, here are a few links in the news recently related to giving internationally – especially to Pakistan:

Patrick M. Rooney, Ph.D. on slow rate of giving to Pakistan (PBS News Hour, 9/6/10) The video is available here.

Una O. Osili, Ph.D. on international giving to Pakistan (NPR All Things Considered, 9/2/10)

Patrick M. Rooney, Ph.D. featured in article about George Soro’s $100 million gift to Human Rights Watch (New York Times, 9/7/10)

U.S. Department of State Pakistan Relief Fund link, including text donations.
Secretary Clinton’s announcement on the Fund

Latest media hits for Giving USA 2010

Reporters and bloggers ranging from large media outlets to small, independent enterprises have used Giving USA 2010 as a resource for their news stories.  Here are some examples of the latest:

Giving Pledge: Billionaires Promise to Donate at Least Half Their …
ABC News
By BRADLEY BLACKBURN By taking the “Giving Pledge,” the forty families or … since the start of the recession, according to the Giving USA Foundation. …

US Super Rich to Share Wealth
Wall Street Journal
The effort comes during the second consecutive year in which philanthropy experienced its deepest decline ever recorded by the Giving USA Foundation, …

Just Means blog by Harry Stevens- Why Social Enterprise Will Flourish During the Great Recession
…Meanwhile, according to Giving USA Foundation, charitable giving fell by 3.6 percent last year, the second largest fall since 1956, when the foundation began conducting its surveys…

Simone Joyaux’s post at The Nonprofit Quarterly
Read Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy. It’s available. Right now. Visit the website. Read the results. Think about the findings. …

Melissa’s guest blog at The Case Foundation

Bob Ottenhoff, CEO of GuideStar, with recommendations for improving philanthropy

These are just a few of the recent online uses of Giving USA 2010.  Feel free to send along others you find. We’d love to keep the list current and useful for our readers.

Thanks,

Melissa

Giving USA in blogs

Others blog about Giving USA more than I do. Here are a few recent and interesting blogs mentioning Giving USA. I’d love to hear what you think and have your ideas of other links for the Giving USA community.  Use Contact Us to send your feedback.

Melissa

Jason McNeal about increasing giving

Laura Kaufman in a post at Change4YourDollar.com about individual giving

Dan Shasserre in his 7th inning blog, this one about fundraising in this economy

Sondra Shaw-Hardy in her review of women as donors, at http://thepowerofthepurse.blogspot.com/

Ruth Cambridge and Rick Cohen of the Nonprofit Quarterly asking questions

Dawn Robinson of Cramer Fundraising about what Giving USA‘s estimates mean to her

Robert Frank in his Wall Street Journal blog about the priorities of donors

And response to that from The Huffington Post

e-Jewish Philanthropy about the overall findings

Giving USA featured in the media

Giving USA 2010 estimates that total charitable contributions from American individuals, corporations and foundations fell to $303.75 billion in 2009, down from a revised total of $315.08 billion for 2008. The 2009 drop represents a fall of 3.6 percent in current dollars. In 2009 the overall economy saw slight price deflation, which makes the adjusted change in giving year-over-year a decline of 3.2 percent

The following is a selected listing of Giving USA citations since the June 9, 2010 release of this story.

USA Today cited Giving USA estimates and quoted the Center on Philanthropy and Giving USA Foundation Chair Edith H. Falk regarding the decline in charitable giving this year.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on the new Giving USA numbers and its report about which types of organizations were especially affected by the recession.

A NonProfit Times article discussed the drop in charitable giving in 2009.fall in charitable giving.

More than 100 news outlets picked up the Associated Press article, which notes the fall in charitable giving.

Bloomberg cited Giving USA in an article on the drop in donations to arts and culture.

The Washington Post mentioned Giving USA in an article that discussed an increase in the number of volunteers.

In addition, Giving USA findings were reported in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and on major news programs such as Good Morning America, The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, NPR, and CNN Newsroom, among others.