News/Stats/Studies

Half of big companies gave more to charity in cash and products last year than they did in 2007, just before the recession took hold, according to a report released by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.

However, not all companies are increasing their giving: One-fifth of companies last year gave a fourth of what they did before the recession started.

Promotional products retailer 4imprint donated in-kind to 47 nonprofit organizations and charities throughout the U.S. and Canada in the third quarter of 2011 as part of its one by one(TM) philanthropic giving program. These donations come in addition to the 113 donations already made in the first and second quarters of this year.

A new report by Indiana University faculty members evaluates the state of philanthropy and sets forth recommendations for increasing giving with measures that include improving relationships with donors, strengthening public awareness and reaching new audiences. The report, Growing Philanthropy in the United States, was released Oct. 28. It addresses the fact that philanthropic giving in the United States has remained static for decades, despite the best efforts of fundraising professionals and nonprofit organizations.

Fidelity Charitable, the nation's largest donor-advised fund program, reported that despite continued economic challenges, American donors surveyed this month report they remain committed to charitable giving, planning ahead for it and giving even where there is no expectation or incentive to do so. In addition, the majority of American donors (72 percent) plan to maintain or increase their level of charitable giving this year compared to last year. This number is up from 63 percent in 2010.

With the U.S. economy stuck on pause, or perhaps headed for a double-dip recession, nonprofits must plan for the possibility that public funding may never fully rebound and even may continue to shrink, a new report says.

And with the rise in unemployment, which historically has correlated to a drop in individual giving, and with flagging consumer confidence, "it is unlikely that philanthropy will be able to shoulder the decline in public finance," says the report "The Public Finance Crisis: Can Philanthropy Shoulder the Burden," by Changing Our World.

When Ellen West, director of global communications and public affairs at Google, accompanied a friend to a 2010 fundraising event at Ghetto Film School in New York, she decided to do much more than write a check. At Ms. West’s urging, Google later gave the nonprofit, which teaches New York City teenagers to become filmmakers and storytellers, a $500,000 donation.

In spite of the economy, two-thirds of America’s leading nonprofits engaged in cause marketing expect to form more business alliances in 2012, a survey by the Cause Marketing Forum reveals.

Of the nine past nonprofit winners of CMF’s highest honor, the Cause Marketing Golden Halo Award, 67 percent expect to be involved in more cause marketing campaigns in 2012, the CMF survey revealed. Twenty-two percent expect to field the same number of corporate partner programs in 2012 that they did this year.

The anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks says it will be scaling back operations so that it can focus on raising money. For months, WikiLeaks has been prevented from receiving donations through Visa, MasterCard and other firms that process financial transactions. Those firms severed their relations with the organization after American officials described its release of classified documents as damaging to U.S. national security interests.

Fundraising industry reports can help any nonprofit shape its strategy and sharpen its fundraising efforts. It's a matter of sorting through data and finding the nuggets that can benefit your professional learning.

The Pew Research Center has announced a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the changing role of public libraries in the digital age.

Awarded through the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life project, the initiative seeks to determine the ways in which public library patrons' needs and expectations are shifting with the proliferation of e-books, mobile connectivity, and digital content.