News/Stats/Studies

Many nonprofit agencies see a spike in donations at the end of the year, said Dawn Littlefield, executive director of the Kishwaukee United Way, which supports more than two dozen DeKalb County nonprofits.

December is typically a busy month at the DeKalb County Community Foundation as well, executive director Dan Templin said. Many donors wait until the end of the year to take stock of their tax situation, he said, or to catch up on the amount they had budgeted for charity for the year.

Continued high unemployment and decreases in charitable donations have taken a toll on nonprofits over the past few years, said John Baker, managing director of the Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies.

Many nonprofits have responded by collaborating on projects, sharing resources and finding new sources of donations, he said.

The proportion of people who think charities work professionally has increased by more than a sixth over the past three years, according to a survey.

The poll by the consultancy nfpSynergy shows that the proportion of people who agree that "charities strive to achieve the highest professional standards at all times" rose from 47 percent in 2007 to 55 percent in 2010.

The consultancy regularly surveys a representative sample of 1,000 people aged 16 and over in Britain about their perceptions of charities for its Charity Awareness Monitor.

Virtually all of the nation’s nonprofit organizations consider information technology important or critical to their operations, a new study shows, but sizable numbers still rely on outdated equipment and need more computers. The survey, conducted by the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Listening Post Project, found that nearly all of the 443 organizations that responded said that information technology was “moderately important” or “critical” to carrying out their business activities, including accounting, finance, fund raising, and delivering services.

AFP CEO Paulette Maehara shares her thoughts on Convio's positive 2010 Holiday Giving Survey findings.

For many charities this holiday season, sharp increases in fund raising are an unexpected holiday gift, a new Chronicle poll finds.

Fifty-three percent of the 181 organizations that reported on the state of their November and December appeals told The Chronicle that they were raising more than they had during the same time a year ago. One in five said their donations had jumped by 20 percent or more.

Gift cards long have been heralded as the savior of last-minute shoppers during the holiday season. Now, they also are coming to the rescue of the procrastinating philanthropist.

The newest version of the gift card allows recipients to donate the money on the card to a nonprofit of their choice. These so-called charitable gift cards are issued by nonprofit organizations such as GlobalGiving and TisBest that vet the charities to ensure they are legitimate. The groups estimate that they have raised millions of dollars for causes.

The combination of holiday spirit and the last chance to snag a tax write-off means donors of all levels open their wallets. This year, experts say, people plan to open them a little wider.

Rick Dunham, a Dallas-based authority on charitable giving, names the performance of the stock market as the most important indicator of how much individuals and companies give each year. Slight economic recovery in 2010 should translate to dollar signs for nonprofits.

A research study into the charitable giving habits and attitudes of Canadians — the first of its kind for the Canadian market — reveals how donors of different generations learn about nonprofit organizations, their preferred channels for engagement, the most appropriate channels for fundraising, and who and what influences their giving decisions.

Despite the down economy, the amount American foundations distributed for international purposes dipped by far less than giving to other causes last year, according to a new report from the Foundation Center and the Council on Foundations.

Foundations in the United States gave $6.7-billion last year for international purposes, a drop of 4 percent from 2008 totals. Over all last year, foundation giving declined by an estimated 8.4 percent after grant makers nationwide lost a total of 17 percent of their assets due to the recession.