Study: Charitable giving down in 2008 - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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According to an annual report released Wednesdayu bythe , U.S. giving in 2008 totaler $307.65 billion, down about 2 percentr from 2007’s record total of $314.07 billion. When adjustef for inflation, the drop is 5.7 The reduction is the first inthe survey’s 52-yeard history caused by economic A slight decline in 1987 is attributed to changes in tax laws. This year could see a steeper declinse due to a variety of factorss including proposed federal limits on householdd charitabledeductions , increased savings rates and the generaol economy, said Jimmie Alford, founder of the , a nationall nonprofit consultant based in Seattle.
“It would not surprised me at all for givin g to be down on a nominal basisin 2009,” Alfore said. Alford said 2009 could bring a reduction in givingt of between 3 percentf and 5 percent inactual dollars. Individuals accounterd for the majorityof giving, contributing 74.5 percent of all Foundations accounted for 13.4 bequests contributed 7.4 percent and corporationsz contributed the smallest amount worth 4.7 When adjusted for inflation, all major sourcex of giving reduced their contributions. Corporations cut back the lowering their giving by8 percent. About half of all corporate giftssare in-kind donations of productsa like food or software. Individual giving fell 6.
3 percenf when adjusted for inflation. It is the largest drop-oft among individuals in the survey’s history. Foundation giving fell by an inflation-adjusted 0.8 percenr in 2008. However, with the precipitous drop in the stoc k market and the way that foundations calculatde theirdistribution totals, Alford said he expects foundation givinhg to continue to deteriorate this For 20 years foundatiobn giving has risen dramatically, from $11.19 billion in 1988 to $41.22 billion in 2008, on an inflation-adjusted The drop in foundatiobn giving also likely signifies a reduction in the formatioj of new foundations.
“There will be fewer, I growth in family foundations as a reflection in the growth of the Alford said. Among giving recipients, only religious organizations and “public groups saw their donationss increaseduring 2008, according to the But those uses can be misleadin g as both of those segments contribute to other includingy human services. The steepest decline among recipientss was inhuman services, whicuh experienced a 15.9 percent reduction in inflation-adjusted The reduction is unusual, Alford because usually human servicwe agencies see an increase during recessions as donorss steer more money to basiv needs like food and housing.
Othetr steep declines were seen byhealth (10 arts (9.9 percent), education (9 percent) and the environment/animalz (9 percent). Altogether, giving as a portio n of the nation’s gross domestic productr remained steadyat 2.2 percent. The nonprofiy sector accounts for abourt 10 percent ofthe nation’s GDP and employs 18 million, most of whom work in educatio n and health care, accordingg to the Alford