Charitable Giving Increases in 2012

I'm writing this morning from the Hampton Inn in Horse Cave, KY on the way to Cleveland OH.  I'm also trying out a new ipad/iphone app called BlogTouch.  There are no guarantees how this will look once its posted.

Found this morning in a report from the website www.givingusareports.org that charitable giving increased in 2012.  The largest increases were to the arts and humanities, the sector which saw the biggest cuts during the recession.  Much of the increase came from corporate support, although there were modest increases in individual giving, largely attributed to uncertainty over the future of the charitable tax deduction.  The Giving USA Foundation publishes an annual statistical report that you can download for about $90 (which I didn't), but you can read a good summary of their findings (which I did) under the news tab.

There is a sister organization, The Giving Institute, with a website at www.givinginstitute.org.  Both sites look to be worth exploring.

9 Things to Remember When Planning

A friend and fellow fundraiser handed me an article from the NonProfit Times with the comment that there are at least 2 David Hall's in the world of Planned Giving.  David C. Hall is Director of Planned Giving at the University of Arkansas and was a speaker at the AFP 50th International Conference on Fundraising.  You will find The NonProfit Times article at "9 Things to Remember When Planning" and in it David reminded us of some important points about planned giving:

• If you are not asking your prospects for planned gifts, someone else is.
• Eventually that "someone else" will steal cash gifts also.
• Cash-starved are the best times for planned giving.
• Those who even dabble in planned giving eventually earn 50% to 100% more than those who don't.
• The typical planned gift is 200 to 300 times the gift of a donor's largest annual gift.
• Planned gifts do not alter prospects' cash flow.
• Prospects are eager to make a planned gift but simply don't know how.
• Prospects making gifts through their will typically increase their annual support.
• Anyone can make a planned gift.

I added the emphasis to highlight the well-documented fact that some of the biggest objections to planned giving at local United Ways just aren't the case.  The University of Arkansas website is a good one to look over (even for an Alabama fan) and if you hear of another David Hall out there in planned giving, let me know.

2012 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy



Thanks to Joe Jerz, Senior Director of Campaign and Major Gifts at Heart of West Michigan United Way in Grand Rapids for sending out a link this morning to the study. It's only 7 pages long and I took a copy with me this morning on a visit to a Financial Planner.  It made a great impact piece for a conversation about her clients, our Tocqueville Society, and the endowment. 

Go to http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/files/press_kit/additional/2012_BofA_Study_of_HNWP_-_Key_Findings.pdf

David