Charitable Giving Expected to Increase in 2018

Ask your Magic 8-Ball about the state of charitable giving in the next few years, and there’s a good chance it’ll tell you “outlook good.” As long as it’s getting its info from Marts & Lundy and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, that is.

The two organizations teamed up on a study titled “The Philanthropy Outlook: 2017 and 2018.” The third edition of the collaborative effort, it offers some reassurance for nonprofit organizations heading into a time of relative uncertainty. Some of its findings:

• Total giving is expected to increase by 3.6 percent in 2017 and 3.8 percent in 2018.

• Individual giving will increase 3.0 percent in 2017 and 3.2 percent in 2018, driven by factors including average to above-average growth in personal income and close-to-average growth in household net worth.

• Foundation giving will rise 5.9 percent in 2017, estate giving 5.4 percent and corporate giving 2.4 percent. Of these, only estate giving will see a decline in growth (5.2 percent) in 2018.

All good news—but there are some caveats. The 3.6 percent projected increase in total giving for 2017 is a bit lower than the 4.3 percent predicted in last year’s edition of the study, and the authors note a number of factors that could affect the outlook for giving. These include an expected rise in oil costs (cutting into consumer budgets), a general increase in costs of goods and, of course, the new administration taking over in Washington, D.C.

Still, things look promising for continued giving growth—or at least stability—in the near-term. “Projected growth in total giving in the years 2017 and 2018 is likely to continue to outpace predicted growth in U.S. GDP,” the study notes. “These increases mean that philanthropy will continue to stake a larger share of the U.S. economic landscape in years to come.”

Download the full study at goo.gl/PfDYdj to learn more.