Atlas of Giving Reports 2012 Total Giving to Nonprofits Grew 6.7 Percent

• $3 billion given by Omaha investor Warren Buffet to charitable foundations operated by each of his three children
• $499 million donated by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Silicon valley Community Foundation
• $300 million pledged by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to his Allen Institute for Brain Science
• $200 million given to Columbia University’s Mind Brain Behavior Institute by billionaire publisher and real estate tycoon Mortimer Zuckerman

Looking ahead to 2013, the picture is expected to be dramatically less rosy. The Atlas of Giving 2013 giving forecast calls for only modest growth of 1.6 percent, one of the slowest growth rates in 50 years. Expected declines in stock market returns, coupled with a 2 percent across the board hike in the payroll tax will hamper growth. n elimination or reduction of the charitable deduction would most certainly have an even greater negative impact on giving.

“The stock market and growing GDP is primarily what made 2012 a reasonably good year for many nonprofits. Our analysis tells us that forecasted drops in the investment markets will produce corresponding drops in giving,” Mitchell said. “At the same time, the drop in discretionary income resulting from the 2% payroll tax hike will be a factor in individual and family giving decisions.”