Early 2017 data show solid gains in donations

• Published date: 01 April 2018
• Date: 01 April 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30437

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR APRIL 2018

6© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Nonprot Research

Early 2017 data show solid gains in donations

According to an early look at charitable giving

data for 2017, total giving in the United States grew

by about 4�1 percent, thanks to a strong stock mar-

ket, spikes in giving in response to political issues, a

continued shift to digital giving and a strong nish

in the nal few months of the year� Those ndings,

detailed in the 2017 Charitable Giving Report, recently

released by nonprot software rm Blackbaud, are

based on overall giving data from 8,453 organizations

representing $29�7 billion in total fundraising from

2017� The report also includes online giving data from

5,709 organizations representing $3�1 billion in online

fundraising from 2017�

As in past years, giving totals ranged a bit de-

pending on organization size and focus area� Large

organizations grew by 4�3 percent, while medium

organizations saw their donations increase by 3�9 per-

cent and small nonprots grew 4�2 percent compared

to the same time period in 2016�

The big winner was online giving, which saw an

increase of 12�1 percent over 2016 levels, the report

said� Broken down further, online giving to large

organizations grew 11 percent, online giving to

medium-sized organizations grew by 14�9 percent and

online giving to small nonprots grew 10�7 percent

on a year-over-year basis�

The data show that nonprots’ investments in

digital infrastructure are paying off, as the percent-

age of total fundraising that came from online giving

reached another record high in 2017� According to

the report, about 7�6 percent of overall fundraising

revenue, excluding grants, was raised online, and

about a fth of that—21 percent—was done via a

mobile device� This continues a growth trend that

Blackbaud has measured over the past several years,

the company said�

In terms of program area, international affairs

organizations marked the highest growth in overall

fundraising for the year, while faith-based nonprof-

its experienced the largest growth in online giving�

Only arts and culture and K–12 education institu-

tions experienced year-over-year declines in overall

fundraising�

As mentioned, the nal few months of the year

saw a boost in donations—up 5�1 percent from the

prior year, the company said� The tax reform legis-

lation passed by Congress in the nal weeks of the

Study spotlights management, operations of ‘leanly staffed’ foundations

Women lead the majority of minimally staffed

U�S� foundations but are paid just 84 cents on the

dollar compared to their male colleagues, according

to new research issued by Exponent Philanthropy�

According to the rm’s 2018 Foundation Operations

and Management Report, women lead about two-

thirds of “leanly staffed” foundations, a category

that comprises the majority of foundations in the

United States�

These foundations are also predominantly white,

the report said� But almost 40 percent of leanly

staffed foundations have nonwhite representation on

their boards, and about a third of these foundations

have nonwhite representation among their staff�

The report also provides some insight into the

operations of these organizations� For example:

• Leanly staffed foundations give locally, na-

tionally and internationally� The vast majority (89

percent) support their local communities, and 21

percent give internationally�

• Seventy-nine percent make general operating

grants, up from 77 percent in the previous year�

• Thirty-two percent make grants to support

advocacy efforts, up from 27 percent in the previ-

ous year�

• The most important issue facing leanly staffed

foundations continues to be board/generational

succession�

• Nearly all (90 percent) leanly staffed founda-

tions supplement their operations with consultants,

using them for activities other than investments and

accounting�

• Leanly staffed foundations are increasingly us-

ing technology to streamline processes, most often

using technology for accounting, charity status/

grantee due diligence and online document sharing�

For more information, visit http://www.exponent-

philanthropy.org. ■

(See DATA on page 8)