Latest data show plunge in donations compared to 2018
| Published date | 01 November 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30675 |
| Date | 01 November 2019 |
NOVEMBER 2019 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR
5
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved
DOI: 10.1002/nba
Industry News
Latest data show plunge in donations
compared to 2018
The latest statistics tracking charitable giving in
the United States are raising alarms across the phil-
anthropic sector for what they show in stark terms: a
plunge in donations—and donors—through the rst
half of the year.
The data were compiled by the Fundraising Effec-
tiveness Project, a joint project of the Association of
Fundraising Professionals and the Urban Institute.
The FEP tracks year-to-date revenue and retention
metrics compared against the prior year total, based
on a group of organizations selected from the Growth
in Giving Database that reect a collective $4.76 bil-
lion in donations during 2018.
The FEP’s Second Quarter Fundraising Re-
port—which includes data from Jan. 1 through June
30—shows that every single metric it measures about
charitable giving in the United States has decreased
in the rst half of 2019 compared to the rst half of
2018. Per the report:
• Overall revenue from charitable gifts is down
7.3%.
• Revenue from gifts of $1,000 or more is down
8.2%.
• Midrange gifts, from $250 to $999, have fallen
3.5%.
• Small donations of $250 or less are down 0.2%.
• The overall number of donors is down 5.8%.
• The new donor retention rate is down 9.5%.
• The new retained donor retention rate is down
8.8%.
• The recaptured donor rate—where a donor has
given in a prior year, dropped out and then returned
to donate once again—is down 1.1%.
According to Jay Love, chief relationship ofcer at
Bloomerang, one of the rms reporting data for the
report, the stats are extremely foreboding.
“In all the years they’ve been tracking this, I’ve
never seen it where every statistic is down, even in a
seemingly booming economy like we have today,” he
told Nonprot Business Advisor.
“And it’s not down by a little: These numbers reect
big drops on just about every level,” he added.
Love noted that in spite of the relatively positive
economic numbers, in terms of jobs and GDP growth,
the American public just seems uncertain about their
future.
People are putting more money in savings instead
of putting it toward charitable giving, which is un-
usual when the economy is good, he said.
“There’s just a sense that maybe things are going to
take a turn, and they need to shore up their nances
a bit,” he said.
In announcing the report, the FEP noted a po-
tentially softening economy as a likely driver of the
changes in giving and donor levels, as well as tax-law
changes that took effect last year. In particular, the
doubling of the standard deduction has minimized the
tax incentive for charitable donations, leading some
donors to “bundle” their gifts—that is, give more in
one year to reach the charitable deduction threshold,
and then reduce gifts the following year—while others
might discontinue their donations entirely.
While the causes might be varied, one thing for sure
is the impact on nonprots, Love said. With so little
revenue coming in the rst half of the year, charities
are under tremendous pressure to make up for it in
the second half, putting a lot of that on hopes that
major donors will step up in the last few months of
the year.
Love laid out what he sees as a must for charities
looking to weather the rest of the year:
• Have a strong, well-dened strategy in place for
end-of-year fundraising. “They can’t just mail it in
this year,” he said.
• Go all-in on Giving Tuesday. The annual event
has become a must-do for nonprots, and they need
a solid plan in place that capitalizes on its increasing
popularity, he said.
• Reach out to current donors. Nonprots need
to goose their donor retention rates so that last year’s
end-of-year donors come back and give again. Key
to that, he said, is timely communications. “Research
shows that sending a thank-you to current donors a
month or two before your solicitation results in much
better giving numbers,” he said.
On the donor retention front, Love notes the
mountains of research showing that, dollar for dollar,
(See DONATIONS on page 8)
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