Charitable giving appears to be booming. Charities raised $410 billion in 2017, the largest total since “Giving USA” began tracking giving patterns more than 60 years ago. America’s “commitment to philanthropy is solid,” said Aggie Sweeney, chair of the Giving USA Foundation, when the the latest report was issued this month.
But the Chronicle’s reporting over the past year suggests that the future of philanthropy might be shaky. Today’s big numbers mask some worrisome trends.
1) The share of Americans who give to charity is declining. In 2014, the latest year for which data is available, 56 percent of American households made a charitable donation. In 2000, that number was 10 percentage points higher, according to Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
2) Don’t blame the decline on millennials. Indiana University’s analysis shows that the incidence of giving has declined among every age group, and at every level of income and education. Most worrisome: The share of those who made donations dropped most among people 51 to 60 years old, often a bedrock group of donors.
3) Nonprofits are increasingly relying on the wealthy. A Chronicle analysis of Internal Revenue Service tax data found that gifts from households earning $200,000 or more accounted for 52 percent of all itemized donations in 2015. In the early 2000s, that figure was consistently in the range of 30 percent.
Similarly, a Blackbaud analysis found that 1 percent of households accounted for a staggering 49 percent of contributions in 2015. In short, the base of support for charities is shrinking, with nonprofits increasingly counting on the wealthy to raise the money they need.
4) Groups are fighting the trend. Worried about the future in the face of current trends, some nonprofits are testing new ways to find — and keep — donors. Notably, 14 public-media outlets have lifted a page from political campaigns and are sending canvassers door to door.
5) Some major philanthropists want to boost giving by average Americans. Most notably, the Gates Foundation’s Giving by All project commits $2 million to $3 million a year to about 10 charities that are trying to figure out smart ways to raise money.
6) Charities should consider gearing up planned giving. Experts say $9 trillion dollars will pass from American estates in the next decade. If just 5 percent of that was earmarked for charities, nonprofits could reap around $441 billion — the equivalent of 10 Gates foundations.
Correction: A previous version of this article said charities raised $410 million instead of $410 billion.
