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GIVING IN THE US: 1998 |
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"Giving
to religious congregations and denominations continue to receive the
largest share of support with 43.6% of the allocated dollars">
GIVING IN THE US: 1998 "Giving
to religious congregations and denominations continue to receive the
largest share of support with 43.6% of the allocated dollars, up 4.6%
in 1998. [This is especially true in the African American
community. The figure is not 43.6%, but some have estimated it to be
as high as 77--85%.]" "Giving by individuals is forecasted at $134.84
billion for 1998. The increases are driven by households that file
itemized tax returns."
Total Giving Increased 10.7% in 1998 In 1998, Americans contributed $174.52
billion to nonprofit organizations, according to Giving USA 1999. This
represents a 10.7% increase over the revised number-$157.59
billion-for 1997. Personal giving by living individuals represents the
vast majority of charitable contributions-77.3% in 1998, totaling
$134.84, nearly a 10% increase over 1997's revised number. Giving
to religious congregations and denominations continue to receive the
largest share of support with 43.6% of the allocated dollars, up 4.6%
in 1998. [This is especially true in the African American
community. The figure is not 43.6%, but some have estimated it to be
as high as 77--85%.] Beneath the 10.7% increase in total
giving, lie growth rates in several key areas that are more than
double the average gains. On the contributions side, foundation giving
rose more than 20% in 1998. Even larger gains were reported by certain
recipients of contributions-with contributions to health, human
service, environment and public/society benefit organizations
increasing between 20% to almost 30%. These gains were especially
significant in the areas of health and human services, both of which
have large numbers of organizations that are beneficiaries of those
dollars. Inflation remained low in 1998, and
giving easily outpaced it, increasing by 9.0% in inflation-adjusted
dollars. Giving from all four sources-individuals, bequests,
foundations, and corporations-increased in 1998, with the largest
increase coming from foundations. Among uses of contributions health,
human service, and environment organizations all reported
contributions grew more than 20%. Increases in giving to international
affairs and to education were also strong, at about 10%. Giving to
religion increased 4.6%. This apparently modest increase actually
represents $3.37 billion in new contributions, an absolute amount of
increased giving surpassed only by human service organizations, which
raised $3.42 billion more in 1998 than they did in 1997. Giving by Individuals Up Strongly
for Three Consecutive Years. Giving by individuals, buoyed by a
strong economy, increased by 9.7% in 1998, by 14.2% in 1997, and by
12.9% in 1996, making these the strongest years since before the
1990-91 recession. Giving by individuals is forecasted at $134.84
billion for 1998. The increases are driven by households that file
itemized tax returns. Foundation Giving Increases Sharply,
According to The Foundation Center. The Foundation Center reported that
non-corporate foundation giving increased by 22.9% in 1998, reaching
$17.09 billion. This is the third year of double-digit growth in
foundation grant making. The continuing increase in the stock market
has propelled the assets of some foundations to new levels, and the
trend of increasing foundation grant making is expected to continue. Corporate Giving Increases.
Corporate Giving as Percent of Corporate Income is Steady. Other Forms
of Corporate Support Increasing, Experts Believe. The 1998 estimate of corporate giving,
of $8.97 billion, represents a 9.3% increase over 1997. Corporate
contributions are 1.0% of pretax income, only marginally lower than
the 1.1% reported for the two previous years. In addition, The
Foundation Center reports that in 1998 corporate foundation giving
grew by 14.8%, reaching $2.37 billion. Though direct company giving is
still the source of most corporate support, the role of corporate
foundations is significant. In 1998, they accounted for more than a
quarter of all corporate giving. In addition, corporations support
nonprofits through marketing, community relations, and advertising
budgets, which are generally separate from charitable giving budgets,
and so this support is not counted in the Giving USA estimate. Bequest Giving Continues to Rise Giving by bequest continued to
increase, rising by an estimated 7.8% in 1998 to reach $13.62 billion.
Bequest giving varies from year to year with the death rate and
because of the varying amount of time it takes wills to go through
probate. However, within the context of annual volatility there has
been a steady increase in the value of willed giving. Giving to Surveyed Nonprofits Up Recipient organizations reported strong
growth in most cases. Four categories of nonprofits reported
contributions rose over 20%. These were health organizations (up
20.4%), human service organizations (up 27.0%), environment/wildlife
organizations (up 28.3%) and public/society benefit organizations (up
29.5%). Public/society benefit organizations include those that are
themselves supporting organizations. That is, they collect funds and
distribute them to other nonprofits. Also included in this category
are organizations engaged in civil rights, community development and
public affairs programs. Two categories of nonprofits reported
increases of close to 10%. Giving to education is estimated to have
increased by 10.8%, and giving to international affairs increased by
9.3%. Giving to religion is estimated to have grown more slowly in
percentage terms, increasing 4.6%, but it increased by $3.37 billion,
nearly as much in total dollars as human service giving. Giving to the arts declined slightly,
by 0.8%, from $10.62 billion to $10.53 billion. Large and small arts
organizations-defined by the amount of public revenue they
receive-reported increases in giving of over 6% on average. But
mid-sized organizations lost ground. Reporting among arts
organizations was more uneven than other segments. |
