A widely-held perception is that corporations and foundations are the biggest sources to tap for grants and donations. The reality is that 82 percent of philanthropic dollars are contributed by individuals and bequests. Corporations and foundations are easier to target, their contribution of 5 percent and 13 percent respectively was 18 percent of the total philanthropic dollars in 2008. Individuals are more of a challenge to reach and solicit, but are by far the largest philanthropic resource. Fundraising strategies for parks need to consider all sources and how best to connect park needs with all potential donor sources and their motivations for giving.

According to Giving USA, a report compiled annually by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, figures on American philanthropy showed that:

• Americans gave more than $307.65 billion to their favorite causes despite the economic conditions in 2008. Total giving, when adjusted for inflation, was down 5.7 percent, the largest drop recorded since the group began keeping track of America’s charitable contributions. Many had expected a sharper decline in giving with the recession. It’s important to keep in mind that despite the downturn, giving still totaled $307 billion and individual giving continues to be in the 82% of total giving range.
• The greatest portion of charitable giving, $229.28 billion, was given by individuals or household donors. In 2008, gifts from individuals represented 75 percent of all contributed dollars compared to 74.8% in 2007.
• Charitable bequests, which are made by individuals, totaled $22.66 billion. This is a decrease of 2.8 percent (6.3 percent when adjusted for inflation) from the previous year. Charitable bequests are estimated to be 7 percent of total giving.
• The sum of gifts by individuals and charitable bequests in 2008 is $251.94 billion or 82 percent of total giving.
• In 2008, foundations increased their giving by 3 percent to $41.21 billion, accounting for 13 percent of all philanthropy in the USA.
• Corporate giving, which is tied to corporate profits, decreased 4.5 percent (8 percent when adjusted for inflation) in 2008 to $14.5 billion. Corporate giving accounted for 5 percent of all charitable giving in 2008.

Source: Giving USA 2009

Footnotes:
1) All figures are rounded.
2) Foundations are defined by the Foundation Center as independent foundations, corporate foundations, community foundations and operating foundations. For more information see http://foundationcenter.org/geststarted/learnabout/foundations.html
3) Unallocated sub sector includes “gifts to newly formed organizations; individual and corporate deductions expected to be claimed in 2007 for gifts made in prior years; amounts that donors deduct at a value different from what the non-profit reports as revenue; gifts and grants to government entities claimed by donors but not reported as received at 501(c)(3) charity; and foundation grants to organizations located in another country.” Giving USA 2007
4) Public-Society Benefit sub sector includes “contributions to nonprofit organizations collecting funds for distribution to a number of other agencies. These organizations include United Ways; Jewish federations and appeals; commercially sponsored donor-advised funds; and combined funds; such as the Combined Federal Campaign, America’s Charities, and others.” Giving USA 2006

• People give to support what they value and believe in. The giving percentages are relatively constant year to year with minor shifts. We need to think creatively how to tap into as many giving categories that can be related to our parks and programs.
• Giving USA reported that two-thirds of public charities saw decreases in 2008. The exceptions were religion, public-society benefit and international affairs.
• Giving to arts, culture, and humanities organizations was hit particularly hard by the recession. Giving in 2008 to these causes, including historical and cultural preservation, totaled $12.8 billion and accounted for 4 percent of all contributions. In 2007 more than $13.6 billion was donated to arts, culture and humanities organizations and accounted for 4.5 percent of all contributions. Giving to environment/conservation and animal related causes totaled 2 percent. Both are a relatively small percentages of total giving.
• Think how you can also relate park needs and giving opportunities to the larger giving categories on the Contributions by Charitable Cause pie chart, such as education, human services, health and religion. Parks can support fitness initiatives, youth employment and education programs. In several instances, funds have been raised to restore historic churches in parks.
• By 2050, an estimated $41 trillion will transfer from one generation to the next, with gifts to nonprofit organizations projected to exceed $6 trillion.

Source: Giving USA 2009

Footnote: *Unallocated contributions included deductions carried over multiple tax years, gifts to new organizations and government agencies, and foundation grants to international recipients.

Giving USA also surveyed charitable organizations to find out how gifts changed from the previous year.

Among the report findings:

• Faith-based charities, including churches, received the most charitable gifts in 2008, capturing $106.9 billion – 35 percent of total contributions in 2008. Religious groups received more than a third of all contributions in the U.S., and were among the very few charities whose contributions rose in 2008. Faith-based donations increased 5.5 percent (1.6 percent when adjusted for inflation) from the previous year.
• Charitable giving to colleges, universities and educational organizations accounted for the second largest share of all charitable giving at 13 percent. Educational institutions and organizations received $40.9 billion in gifts. Stalled capital campaigns and declining gifts to annual funds were key reasons why colleges and schools faced a 5.5 percent drop (9 percent when adjusted for inflation) drop in 2008 following a 3.4 percent increase in 2007.
• Social or human service charities raised $25.9 billion in 2008. Giving to social service charities in 2008 suffered the next-to-largest drop of more than 12.7 percent (15.9 percent when adjusted for inflation) among charities after growing by 5.4 percent in 2007 despite increased demand for these services.
• Increased concerns over global warming and the impact the environment has on health motivated donors to give $6.6 billion to environmental and animal-welfare issues. This is a 5.5 percent (9 percent when adjusted for inflation) decrease over 2007. People are beginning to connect the environment to health-related issues. This has helped garner support and draw new donors for environmental causes. Giving for these organizations was 2 percent of the total estimated giving for 2008.
• Contributions to public society benefit organizations - nonprofit organizations such as the United Way or Jewish Federation who collect funds for distribution to a number of other agencies - received $23.9 billion in donations. This reflects an increase of 5.4 percent (1.5 percent when adjusted for inflation), a slight growth from last year but at a slower rate than the 2.9% increase recorded in 2007.
• Overall giving to health-related organizations such as hospitals and other health charities that raise money for research, public awareness and fighting diseases declined to $21.6 billion (and accounted for a 10 percent decrease), following a 2.5% increase in 2007.
• Arts, cultural and humanities giving has been hit hard by the recession following a 4.9 percent increase in 2007. More than $12 billion was raised for arts, culture and the humanities in 2008. This is a drop of 6.4 percent (9.9 percent when adjusted for inflation). Gifts to arts, culture and humanities organizations were 4 percent total estimated giving in 2008.
• International affairs organizations received $13.3 billion in 2008, an increase of 0.6 percent (but a decrease of 3.1 percent when adjusted for inflation) compared to 2007. International affairs giving is 4 percent of total estimated giving.
• In 2008 gifts to foundations dropped to $32.65 billion, a decrease of 19.2 percent (22.2 percent when adjusted for inflation). Gifts to foundations are 11 percent of total estimated giving.

Charities were able to raise awareness and ultimately contributions by implementing new development strategies that include:

• Build a more compelling case for giving in light of a more competitive fundraising environment. Charities built strong messages around the consequences of not supporting their cause, such as highlighting the loss of education or art programs, the closing of a center, or reductions in services.
• Improve communications with donors through quarterly newsletters and regular email announcements.
• Partner with other organizations to raise visibility and gain a broader audience.
• Improve efforts in getting small annual gifts from members and acknowledging donor gifts within one or two days.
• Increase advocacy work and draw attention to a need or crisis.
• Shift priorities from fundraising for specific groups to fundraising for specific problems or needs.

In Charitable Giving to Education, Health and Arts: An Analysis of Data Collected in the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study, 2003, the Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University concluded that beyond income and wealth, the most important indicator of a household's propensity to donate is philanthropic activity for other causes.

"The most important implication for fundraising professionals is that donors who either give or volunteer for one cause may extend their generosity to other causes," according to Campbell & Company who prepared the report. "These donors remain important sources of philanthropic potential for organizations..."

In light of this and increased giving in other sectors, park support organizations should relate park needs in donors' minds in other giving categories beyond environmental. Consider partnering with education, health and other charitable organizations to broaden the audience base, diversify income sources and obtain additional funding through private foundations, government agencies and other income. Park support organizations can connect their needs with other charitable causes through a number ways ranging from education initiatives to youth and health programs.

Non Cash Contributions

The recently published IRS Spring 2006 Statistics of Income Bulletin provides insight into noncash giving by donation type, donor age and income for tax year 2003. Nearly six million tax returns reported $36.9 billion in noncash charitable donations and an average of $2,585 per gift. Of the roughly 14.3 million noncash donations that were reported:

• Corporate stock represented the largest category of noncash donations at $13.7 billion or 37.2% of all contributions. (The average value of corporate stock donations was $79,279 per return.)
• Real estate donations followed at $5.9 billion with clothing donations slightly behind at $5.8 billion. They represent 16 percent and 15.8 percent of all non cash contributions, respectively.
• Easements were the largest category in terms of average donation per return at $684,733 and average value amount per donation at $619,727. The number of easement donations was about 2,400, the second smallest category behind intellectual property.
• The higher their incomes and the older their age, individuals made greater noncash contributions. Approximately $15.1 billion of the donations or 40.8 percent, were made by taxpayers 65 and older, with an average of $22,000 per return. They gave more stocks and other securities, real estate and easements, and art and collectibles than other age groups. Taxpayers between 45 and 55 years old donated more food, clothing, household items, and vehicles than other age groups.
• Taxpayers with annual gross incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 gave the most non cash donations at $8.2 billion on 1.7 million tax returns. The average donation amount per return was $4,774. The donations represented 3.6 percent of the annual gross income of the group with easements and real estate representing over half the donations. Taxpayers with an annual gross income of $10 million or more were the second largest group to give in terms of dollar value. Although they were the smallest group, they donated $7.1 billion, an average donation of $2.8 million per return.

Source: Internal Revenue Spring 2006 Statistics of Income Bulletin

Charitable Giving to Education, Health and Arts: An Analysis of Data Collected in the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study, 2003 analyzed the differences in the personal and household characteristics of donors to the three sectors.

Those who gave to arts, education and health represented 14 percent, 26 percent and 37 percent of the donors to secular charities, respectively.

The report found that 67 percent of households donated $25 or more to charity in 2002. Households contributed on average $1,872 each. Among the findings:

• 11 percent of households contributed to religious causes only.
• 21 percent contributed to only secular causes.
• 34 percent contributed to both religious and secular causes.
• Arts donors' contributed on average 2.1 percent of their income to secular causes, one of the highest shares of income for secular giving. The average amount contributed to the arts by donors was $215.
• Education donors supported, on average, 2.7 other secular causes averaging 1.5 percent of their income. The average amount contributed to education by these donors was $416.
• Donors to health-related causes support, on average, 2.4 other secular causes. Health donors give amounts to secular causes that average 1.2 percent of their income. The average amount contributed to health organizations by donors is $298.

For more information on the Giving USA Foundation, go to their website at www.givingusa.org/ or call 847-375-4709 or toll free 800-462-2372.

Information on the Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University can be found at http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/ or contact 317-274-4200.