Month: June 2010

Major Donors are out there! Giving USA 2010 estimates individual giving at $227B in 2009

by Diane Remin
Posted in Major Donors Major Gifts

GIVING USA 2010 estimates $227.41B of individual gifts in 2009.  As always, individual giving dominates total charitable contributions, accounting for 75% of the total.  Surprisingly, individual giving remained relatively stable between 2008 and 2009, falling a scant 0.4%.  Total giving fell by an estimated 3.6%, with bequests (-23.9%) and foundation grantmaking (-8.9%) experiencing the largest drops.

Now in its 55th year, this comprehensive study of charitable giving is researched and written by The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.  The Executive Summary of the report: “Giving USA 2010: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2009” is available for free from Giving USA.

Check-out Giving USA 2010 and see for yourself!

Major gifts that add-up: The power of multi-year giving

by Diane Remin
Posted in Major Donors Major Gifts Smaller nonprofits

As a smaller nonprofit, you have limited resources. Multi-year gifts leverage your staff’s time. 

Research on your donor base will determine the multi-year giving numbers that are right for your organization.  For this example, let’s assume you have donors with the ability to give either $5,000 or $10,000 per year for five years.

$5,000 & $10,000 Major Gifts

The following chart shows what happens if you make 10 successful asks each year:  5 for $5,000 per year for five years and 5 for $10,000 per year for five years.  That’s less than one new major gift per month. 

 

By Year 5, you are generating $375,000 in unrestricted operating funds!