Charity Giving Results for First Half of 2011

The Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC) released a report today pertaining to giving in 2011 as compared to 2010. As someone involved with a non-profit organization, I doubt that these numbers will surprise you. As a matter of fact, I bet you can pull out your own accounting books and support many of these claims.

On MarketWatch.com, a press release from Business Wire stated that, “As the fourth quarter of 2011 begins–typically the most important time of year for fundraising–fewer than half of surveyed nonprofits reported fundraising increases during the first half of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010.”

Here are some interesting statistics: 44% reported increases in charitable contributions received through June, compared with the same period in 2010; 25% reported giving remained level; 30% reported charitable contributions have declined so far this year and 1% did not know.

These numbers are surprisingly similar to the results received in 2009. However, in 2007 when the economy was quite a bit stronger, 65% of the agencies said they raised more money than the previous year, 11% raised about the same amount and 24% raised less. (On a side note, I want to know who the 1% was that didn’t know if their donations increased or decreased in the 2011 survey. I just hope they were new non-profits that couldn’t fully compare their bank statements… or maybe they just need new accountants….)

“The NRC surveys found that the relatively low share of nonprofits reporting growth in contributions received began during the recession and lingered for all subsectors through the first half of 2011. In the current survey, human services organizations fared best, but only 50 percent of those organizations reported increases in the first half of the year. International charities had the smallest share of organizations reporting increases, at just 20 percent, although those numbers may be affected by the Haiti earthquake and high donation levels in 2010.

“There were marked differences based on size, with larger organizations achieving greater fundraising success. Fifty-seven percent of the largest organizations in the survey (budgets of $3 million or greater) raised more funds in the first half of 2011, compared with just 34 percent of charities with budgets of less than $250,000.”

It is also interesting to note that the majority of organizations (with expenditures over $250,000) who did raise more money were either involved in or are planning capital and other fundraising campaigns. Giving donors a specific event or goal to focus on helped to increase their giving.

Finally, “when asked for their thoughts about the most successful fundraising methods for the rest of the year, two-thirds (67 %) reported they would focus on large-scale efforts to reach many people through direct mail, special events, online campaigns and similar activities. 45% said they would focus on larger gifts, while 28 % said they saw foundation and corporate support as their biggest potential growth area.”

To read the complete report, please visit: http://bit.ly/puHEH7

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