Liberty Mutual To Up Charitable Giving

Liberty Mutual will increase its charitable giving in Massachusetts this year, at the same time as other major financial institutions in Boston plan to maintain their previous levels of support.

According to an article in The Boston Globe, the Boston-based insurance company will up local donations to $17 million, an estimated 20 percent increase from the $14.2 million it distributed last year. This change is being made possible largely because of the company's signing of a three-year, $8 million deal renewing its sponsorship of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

The insurance giant is also donating $1 million in nonprofit grants to promote its 100th anniversary. One of these grants will be used to conduct a series of public concerts in Boston.

“We care deeply about the community,” Melissa MacDonnell, director of Liberty Mutual’s philanthropy programs, said in a statement. “We were born here 100 years ago, and we’ve grown to become an international company in 27 countries.”

While Liberty Mutual is increasing its donations, other institutions that have large operations in Boston are staying at their previous giving levels. Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America, which is struggling with millions of dollars in losses stemming from its purchase of the mortgage company Countrywide, announced it would give $12 million to Massachusetts charities. This is the same amount the bank has given in previous years.

John Hancock also announced its donations would be staying the same, with a spokesperson saying the company expects to donate $11.5 million locally, which is around the same number as last year. The financial services company had already raised $6.8 million for nonprofits this year, thanks to a sponsorship program with the Boston Marathon.

You can read the full story in The Boston Globe.

Santorum Lags Behind In Charitable Giving

It seems as if there is a new front-runner in the GOP primaries every month.  That honor goes to Rick Santorum this month, with the former senator from Pennsylvania overtaking Mitt Romney and his other rivals in the last few primaries, including a three state sweep in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri.  With increased notoriety comes increased public scrutiny, the latest of which comes in the form of Santorum's charitable giving.

CNN Money reported last week that Santorum lags behind GOP rivals Romney and Newt Gingrich when it comes to charitable donations.  This information comes from the candidate's tax returns, which shows that he gave $81,500 to charity over the past four years.  This makes up only 2.2 percent of his $3.6 million in total income since leaving the Senate.  It got even lower in 2010, when his giving made up only 1.76 percent of his $923,411 income.  In comparison, President Barack Obama gave 14.2 percent of his income to charity, while Romney and Gingrich gave 13.8 and 2.6 percent respectively.

Data from the IRS and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that taxpayers that have an income of $500,000 or more donate 3.4 percent of their total income to charity, putting Santorum's giving on the low end of the spectrum.  Santorum puts a lot of stock in his religious faith and Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, notes that religious individuals tend to give more to charity than the non-religious.  That makes his giving rate seem even lower.

Santorum has long been an advocate of charitable giving and nonprofits, which makes his low giving rate even more puzzling.  In 2005, while he was still in the Senate, he sponsored the CARE Act, which was to promote the interests of charities and provide incentives for Americans to donate.

You can read the full story on Santorum's charitable giving habits in CNN Money.

World Giving Index Ranks U.S. Number One

People often claim that the United States is the most charitable country in the world.  Now there is some hard data to back that claim up.

The World Giving Index (WGI), a yearly report released by the United Kingdom-based Charities Aid Foundation, ranked the U.S. first overall for the first time, with an overall score of 60 percent.  It's quite a turnaround from last year, when it ranked behind Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Canada.  Here are the top 10 countries from this year's report:

• United States
• Ireland
• Australia
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• Netherlands
• Canada
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand
• Laos

And here are some highlights from the report:

• The percentage giving money for the U.S. was 65 percent, tied for 10th with Malta.  Thailand was first with 85 percent.
• 43 percent of respondents in the U.S. said they volunteered.
• 73 percent of Americans said they helped a stranger this year, up from 65 percent last year.
• Ireland increased its overall score from 56 percent to 59 percent.

The news from WGI is very consistent with what we learned from Giving USA's data for 2010.  Given the number of natural disasters that have happened over the past year, it isn't entirely surprising that Americans are giving more, even during this time of economic uncertainty.  To read the rest of the data from the report, check out our article on The NonProfit Times.

Tax Hikes And Giving

For all the discussion about how a cap on the charitable deduction would affect giving, it seems like proposed tax hikes by the Obama administration might have an even bigger impact.  According to a study by the Center on Philanthropy (CoP) at Indiana University, itemized giving would decline if the Bush-era tax cuts are allowed to expire after next year.  Giving by households would have seen a decline in giving by 1.6 percent in 2009 and 2.4 percent in 2010 if both policies had been in effect.  Total itemized giving would have declined by 0.4 percent in 2009, 1.3 percent in 2010.

These numbers may represent a relatively small direct impact on giving but Patrick Rooney, executive director of CoP, explains that the numbers become more significant when you take into consideration "the weak economic climate, funding reductions and increased demand for services" that are already impacting nonprofits across the country.

The Bush tax cuts were extended through 2012 for all taxpayers last year.  The Obama administration still argues that those tax cuts should be eliminated for households making more than $200,000.  This puts the president on yet another collision course with Republican, and some Democratic, lawmakers who believe that the tax cuts should be made permanent for all households.  You can get the full scoop on the CoP study in The NonProfit Times.

Blackbaud Study: Giving Impacted By Summer Doldrums

A quick glance at the new Blackbaud Index shows what would appear to be promising news.  Overall charitable revenue grew 6.8 percent for the three months ending August 2011.  In addition, online giving increased 6.1 percent during the same period.  A closer look at the data reveals that the news isn't as pleasant as it seems. 

As Chuck Longfield, creator of The Blackbaud Index, explains in a new article on The NonProfit Times, giving slowed down considerably during the month of August.  This can be seen when the data is compared to what the Index showed in August 2010.  For example, the increase of 6.1 percent in online giving doesn't seem as impressive when it is compared to the 17.2 percent increase in 2010.

“Not surprisingly, it appears that our country’s continuing economic problems are once again weigh on donors’ checkbooks,” said Longfield. “Our data illustrates the challenges most nonprofits are likely facing as they try to achieve sustainable, consistent growth.”

For the full story on this topic, visit our website at thenonprofittimes.com.

Steve Jobs And Public Giving

In light of the passing of Steve Jobs yesterday, I thought I would bump this post.  The world truly lost a visionary in his passing.  He will be missed.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you are probably aware that Steve Jobs recently announced his resignation as CEO of Apple.  Jobs leaves behind an impressive legacy at Apple, with products like the iPhone and iPad revolutionizing our society.  He also has accumulated a great deal of wealth, nearly $8.3 billion through his shares in Apple and Disney.  Yet, as The New York Times reports, there is no public record of Jobs ever giving money to charity.

Millionaires are often at the forefront of philanthropic activities.  Bill Gates is well known for his work in philanthropy, and Warren Buffett has gotten many billionaires to sign a so-called "Giving Pledge."  The NYT piece examines why Jobs has never been involved in the philanthropic sector, at least publicly, but it came away with few answers.  The article mentions that Jobs did create a foundation in his name in 1986, but closed it after a year.  There has also been speculation that he has been hesitant to give because he has been focused on expanding Apple and dealing with his declining health. 

Given his somewhat private nature, it is possible that Job has given anonymously.  The Times article mentions that there has been speculation that a $150 million donation to the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center came from him.

To read the full article on this subject, head on over to The New York Times.

Giving Day In Texas (UPDATE: 9/30/2011)

UPDATE II: North Texas Gving Day turned out to be a huge success, raking in $10.7 million for 600 nonprofits.  This far exceeded the amount expected, and set a new record for the event. 

UPDATE: As was posted in the comments, the matching funds pool is now $1 million thanks to a donation from Hunt Consolidated.  Thanks to Jake Cigainero from SparkFarm for posting the update.

Many states around the country have "giving days," when a percentage of donations to nonprofits are matched.  This gives people high incentives to donate, which was clearly seen during this year's Erie Gives Day.  The NonProfit Times wrote about Colorado Giving Day in its February 2011 issue.  With the amount of money that can be raised from these events, it's no wonder that more states are having giving days of their own.

According to The Star-Telegram, Texas is planning to host a giving day of its own.  It's called the North Texas Giving Day, and it will run between 7 AM and 7 PM on Thursday.  Donors will be able to choose between 500 nonprofits in the region, with donations at $25 or higher receiving a matching donation.  Those funds will come from a pool of $700,000 that was raised by the Community Foundation of North Texas.

This will be the third year of the North Texas Giving Day.  Previous incarnations had raised a total of 9 million dollars.  This year will be slightly different, as more Tarrant County nonprofits will be represented.  Previously, the giving days had mostly benefited Dallas nonprofits.

Read more about North Texas Giving Day at their website, and make sure to read the full Star-Telegram article here.

Recent Giving Trends

The fundraising landscape is always changing, especially in this volatile economy. Here are some recent giving trends that were released in the 2011 Giving USA Report:

• Giving to arts, culture, and humanities fell 8.7 percent.
• Education fell 8.8 percent.
• Religious giving increased by 0.1 percent.
• International Affairs organizations received 7.2 percent more donations.
• Human Services groups saw an increase in donations by 10.4 percent.

There a couple of things of note about these numbers. The first is that the organizations that saw an increase in donations typically provided immediate services. This is certainly the case with Human Services. International affairs saw growth even before any of the recent natural disasters, which reflects that there has been an increased interest in the missions of these groups.

Philanthropic Giving After 9/11

Yesterday was a solemn day for our country.  As we honored the lives of those lost on 9/11, we had to once again relive those horrifying images from 10 years ago.  There were some positives we were able to take from that day, however.  We remembered the brave work of the First Responders at Ground Zero, how we united as a country, and the re-ignition of philanthropic giving.  That last point was something that was covered in the most recent issue of The NonProfit Times.

Nearly $2.6 billion was raised following the attacks, creating a turning point for philanthropy in response to large-scale disasters.  Following 9/11, Americans continued to give generously when these disasters took place, whether it was the Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005, or the Asian tsunami in 2004.  As long as donors were sure their money was going to where it is supposed to be going, they seemed to have no qualms about giving large amounts of cash.

That was one of the lessons learned following 9/11.  The Red Cross came under heavy criticism when it was learned that money raised from the Liberty Fund--set up to collect donations in the wake of September 11th--would also be used to prepare for other major disasters.  This was eventually changed due to massive public pressure, creating a lesson that future charities heeded. 

If you want to learn more about giving post-9/11, check out the full article on that subject on our website.

Does Mexico Have A Charitable Giving Problem?

Mexico has all the trappings of a perfect tourist destination: Beaches, great weather, beautiful scenery, and plenty of fun activities.  This doesn't mean it's without problems.  Gruesome murders and violence have plagued the country in recent years, sparking policy makers and advocacy groups to try and find a reason for it.  There are plenty of theories out there, but The Washington Post has reported on one that I find very interesting: A lack of corporate and individual philanthropy.

The article cites a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that lists Mexico as having very weak charitable giving numbers.  This is despite the fact that the country has the lowest taxes and second-highest inequality of income of the 34 nations in the OECD.  Although philanthropy levels have improved since a 0.04 percent mark in 2003, they are still lower than they should be.

Much of the charitable giving that does go on in Mexico is very informal, according to the Post article.  Philanthropists don't want to take public credit for fear of extortion and kidnapping.  This has led to a population that is eager to donate because of the recent outbreak in violence, but one that is also weary of attracting too much attention to themselves.  There is also a serious corruption problem among Mexican officials, leaving potential donors skeptical of charities.  Mistrust is one of the core reasons behind Mexico's philanthropy problem.

It's anybody's guess as to how to increase Mexico's charitable giving.  Some will say that decreasing the violence is key, but that's a whole problem in and of itself.  The article ends with a suggestion from the executive director of the Mexican Center for Philanthropy, who says that Mexico needs tax reform.  This is a very fascinating issue, and I suggest heading over to The Washington Post to read the full article.

NPTtv Summary: Giving Is Picking Up

Note: This is a summary of a story from the newest episode of The NonProfit Times TV.

For the 10th consecutive month, fundraising is on the rise.  The latest numbers from Blackbaud show that from March to May, overall charitable revenue went up 11.3% from 2010.  These numbers come from $2.3 billion in 12 months revenue from 1,383 nonprofits.  In addition, organizations of all sizes are experiencing growth for the first time since the Great Recession.  Those specific numbers are as followed:

• Medium and large organizations grew by 10%
• Small organizations (those with less than $1 million in annual fundraising revenue) grew by 17.6%

In addition these numbers, Blackbaud had other data to share:

• Fundraising at arts and culture organizations grew nearly 12%
• Human services and environmental groups were still down from their year earlier results.

Commission Adopts Model Protection Of Charitable Assets Act

Here is an excerpt from a story we recently published on our website:

The Model Protection of Charitable Assets Act (MPCAA) received approval from the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) Tuesday during the ULC’s annual meeting in Vail, Colo.

Approval means that individual states can use the act or any part of it as a model for regulation of nonprofit organizations, though they are not required to use any of it. The new act replaces the Uniform Supervision of Trustees Charitable Purposes Act, passed in 1954.

In a statement after the vote, the ULC said the goal of the PCAA is to “protect the role of the states with respect to charitable assets, by clarifying the role of the Attorney General.

“The attorney general’s authority in most states is broad and this act will not limit or narrow that authority, while providing many states the first clear statutory articulation of that authority.”

You can read the full story by visiting The NonProfit Times on the web.

AFP Poll: Changes To Charitable Deduction Will Hurt Giving

Fundraisers have made it clear they expect a drop in donations if the Obama Administration's plan to limit the charitable deduction is approved, according to a story that was just published on our website.  How much that decline would be, however, is up for debate.

The plan, which is part of the White House's Fiscal Year 2012 budget, would cap itemized deductions at 28 percent for the richest Americans.  In a Quick Poll by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), three-quarters of those surveyed said the plan would negatively affect giving.  When it comes to how much giving would be affected, however, participants were split.  Here's how the numbers break down:

• 27 percent predict a 25-percent drop in gifts
• Another 27 percent believe it will be around a 5 to 10-percent decrease
• Finally, 23 percent think the decline will be at 5 percent

 Fewer than one in 10 fundraisers thought there would be no effect on giving, while 14 percent remained unsure.  You can read the whole story, including some reactions from the CEO of AFP, at the The NonProfit Times.

Giving USA: Americans Gave $290 Billion, Maybe

It appears giving could be heading back to normal levels.

Initial estimates showed that giving by Americans was up 3.8% in 2010 (2.1% adjusted for inflation), according to Giving USA, a publication of Giving USA Foundation.  This was an increase from $280.3 to $290.89 billion.  Despite this initial optimism, revised estimates in the report show that giving has a lot further to go before it can rebound from the lows it reached in 2008 and 2009. 

So what exactly is the state of giving in America?  Read this excerpt on the report by The NonProfit Times:


Observers still were hopeful about the increase last year, after a combined drop of more than 13 percent the past two years. As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), charitable giving remained at 2 percent, the 14th consecutive year it’s been at least that high.


“People are starting to give a bit more, give larger gifts, and probably give to more organizations. That’s good news in this overall compilation of data,” said Edith Falk, chair, Giving USA Foundation, and chair and CEO of Chicago-based consulting firm, Campbell & Company. “The positive news is that as the economy is recovering, so is philanthropy,” she said.


Revisions to last year’s initial estimates for 2009 changed the total giving number of $303.75 billion to $280.3 billion. Final estimates for 2008 also were revised downward, from a revised $315.08 billion last year after initial estimates in 2009 of $307.65 billion. Giving USA typically revises numbers annually as more data becomes available.


“It seems like we’ve gone quite a ways back in the giving and it’s going to take us a long time to recover, unless the economy takes a giant step forward,” said Elizabeth Boris, director of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. She expressed some concern about the significant revision to last year’s data. “It makes me a bit concerned about talking about $280 billion in 2009; you have to go all the way back to 2003 or 2004 to see numbers like that,” she said.


Individual giving was up by 2.7 percent, from $206.16 billion to $211.77 billion, according to estimates for 2010. Individuals continue to make up the bulk of giving, about 73 percent.

Visit The NonProfit Times for the whole scoop.

NPTtv Summary: A Light at the End of the Grant-Making Tunnel

Note: This is a summary of a story from the newest webcast of The NonProfit Times TV. To view the video of this story in full, follow the links in this post.

After some disappointing reports on giving by grant-making organizations during the last couple of years, a new report by the Foundation Center is giving some reason for optimism. 

According to the report, these organizations gave $45.7 billion in giving during 2010.  At first glance, this number might not seem too impressive as it is the same as it was in 2009. However, if the predictions of the report come true, grant-making is in for an impressive 2011.  The report by the Foundation Center says that giving by grant-makers should see a significant increase this year; specifically between 2 and 4 percent.  Assuming this happens, it would surpass the previous record for giving in a year, which was in 2008.
In addition, the survey is similarly bullish for 2012 (assuming there is no unexpected economic crisis).  Here are some other highlights from the report:

• Independent and family foundations reduced their giving by 1%
• Corporation giving remained basically unchanged, at $4.7 billion
• In a rare negative aspect of the report, it was found that Community foundation giving fell 2.1%, the first consecutive year decline on record

Tracking Declines In Charitable Giving

Note: This is a summary of an older story from NPTtv about declines in charitable giving.

Overviews of charitable support for healthcare in Canada and the United States produce two very conflicting pictures. According to the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, or AHP, charitable support dropped $944 million in the United States in 2009 when compared with 2008 levels, versus an increase of $56 million in Canada. The report focuses on AHP members' direct response fundraising programs on behalf of more than 2000 nonprofit healthcare facilities.
During the course of the 2009 fiscal year the efforts of AHP members yielded $7.6 billion in the US and $1.1 billion in Canada, compared with $5 billion and just over $1 billion respectively the previous year. According to William C. McGinly, president and CEO of AHP, "Whether the recession ended in 2009 is for economists to debate, but its ripple effect certainly continued to curtail the ability of donors to give. It means fundraisers will have to work harder and smarter." In the United States, the largest declines in giving were experienced in the area of cash donations, down $818 million from 2008 and secured pledged which declined $7 million over the year.