News/Stats/Studies

The country's more than 76,000 grantmaking foundations gave an estimated $45.7 billion in 2010, virtually unchanged from 2009. According to Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates (2011 Edition), released today by the Foundation Center, 2010 giving remained just 2.1 percent below the record high of $46.8 billion awarded by foundations in 2008, despite the fact that foundation assets were still close to 10 percent below their 2007 peak.

Thirty-one percent of foundations that give money to improve people’s health direct at least half of those grant dollars to poor communities, according to a new study by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, 4 percent give at least a quarter of their health grants to advocacy and organizing work.

A recent study conducted on behalf of Harvard University's Institute of Politics found that around a third of four-year college students said using online tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has a greater impact than in-person advocacy.

The "Survey of Young Americans' Attitudes toward Politics and Public Service" study, conducted by Knowledge Networks in February, found that 32 percent of college students with Facebook accounts believe advocating for a political position using online tools has more of an impact than advocating in-person.

Driven largely by giving to international disasters, online fundraising grew 14 percent in 2010 after falling in 2009, a new report says. Excluding international online giving, which grew 163 percent, online fundraising grew 10 percent, says the 2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study by M+R Strategic Services and NTEN.

Based on data from 40 nonprofits, the report also says the response rate for fundraising e-mail fell 19 percent on average to 0.08 percent in 2010, while the response rate to advocacy e-mail fell 7 percent on average to 3.3 percent.

The State of the Plate survey of more than 1,500 churches across the country found 43 percent saw an increase in giving. On the other hand, 39 percent of the churches surveyed actually saw their giving decrease, perhaps many believe in this uncertain economy they can't afford to give.

A recent study, “Harnessing Corporate Philanthropy to Educate the World’s Poor,” conducted by the Center for Universal Education finds that every year, American corporations contribute nearly half a billion dollars for education in developing countries. This estimate shows that, in the aggregate, U.S. corporations constitute a significant source of financial resources for education in developing countries. In fact, they are the 7th largest donor after the World Bank, France, Germany, United States, Netherlands and Japan.

Fundraisers have long worried about a possible downside to corporate-charity marketing deals — that people who buy a special brand of yogurt or computer or stuffed animal because a retailer promises to give a small percentage of the purchase price to a good cause will figure they have met their charitable obligation and not give as much in direct donations.

It turns out the worries are warranted, according to new research from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. 

Almost half of U.K. cultural organizations believe it will take 10 to 20 years for philanthropy in the arts to benefit the industry at the desired level, according to new research published by Arts Quarter.

In December, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to promote philanthropy to give the arts a boost in financial support. But only 11.5 percent of organizations see the “agenda being realised and effective within the lifetime of this current parliament."

Best Friends Animal Society and Susan G. Komen for the Cure are the two most-trusted nonprofit name brands in the country, according to the 2011 Harris Poll Equitrend study, conducted by Harris Interactive, a market-research firm.

The two organizations were followed by Shriners Hospitals for Children and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which tied for No. 3 in the poll.

Giving to churches rebounded slightly in 2010 after two years of steep decline, but churches fear efforts to trim tax breaks for charitable donations could be an obstacle to the post-recession recovery, according to a new study.

Some 43 percent of churches say their donations increased in 2010, according to the survey of 1,500 church leaders. Only 36 percent of the groups reported gains in 2009.