News/Stats/Studies

Despite early projections of a robust holiday season for U.S. retailers, according to a new U.S.- Canada study, more Americans, almost 7 out of 10 (69 percent), say they’ll spend less on holiday presents this year as a result of the current economic climate.

Americans are more likely than their Canadian counterparts to say that, as a result of the economic climate, they will spend less money on holiday gifts (69% vs. 61%) and are now more likely to give charitable gifts as holiday presents (51% vs. 42%).

Foundation giving is expected to tick up modestly in 2011, but it may take several years before grants match pre-recession levels, according to a survey by the Foundation Center, in New York. The survey of more than 700 grant makers found that a slightly higher share planned to give more next year than in 2009 (21 percent) than planned to give less (15 percent). Fifty-nine percent predicted that their giving would be flat. (The remaining 6 percent of respondents were uncertain.)

Wealthy Americans are making smaller gifts to charity, with more than half of them making their largest gift to fund nonprofit operations, a new study says.

They also are volunteering more, and those who volunteer more are giving more, says the 2010 Bank of America Merrill Lynch Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy.

Overall average gift amounts from wealthy Americans fell 35 percent from 2007, after adjusting for inflation, although several sectors saw average gift amounts grow 4 percent to 21 percent.

Entrepreneurs and the companies they lead are more inclined to give to charitable organizations, according to a recently released study by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund.

The good news is that most Canadians worth $1 million or more feel it's important to give back to the community. The bad news is about one in four of these high-worth individuals do not.

Survey results released Monday — to coincide with National Philanthropy Day — by BMO Harris Private Banking show that 76 per cent of holders of at least $1 million in investable assets say it is important to them to give something back.

The Fidelity^® Charitable Gift Fund ("Gift Fund") and Ernst & Young released Entrepreneurs & Philanthropy: Investing in the Future, a comprehensive study which examines how entrepreneurs apply their personal passion for giving to their corporate philanthropy.

The survey of nearly 150 CEOs and founders reveals that nine in 10 (89 percent) entrepreneurs donate money, both personally and through their companies, to support charitable causes, while 70 percent also donate their time.

Uncertainty over future tax rates and the end of a popular tax break for seniors could cause givers to postpone or reduce charitable contributions this year, putting pressure on charities already struggling with a decline in donations.

The fourth quarter is traditionally the time of year when many large charities receive the majority of their annual contributions. Donors who make their contributions by Dec. 31 can claim the deduction when they file their tax return for the year. But political gridlock has turned that strategy upside down, charitable experts say.

As many charities suffered a decline of 10 percent or more in annual giving, donations to religious organizations fared relatively well from 2007 to 2009, according to a new study released on Tuesday by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Charitable contributions declined by just 0.1 percent among 1,148 religious organizations whose financial statements were examined by the council. Sharper decreases have been found in other surveys

Gifts to charities from wealthy Americans plummeted by an average of nearly 35 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to a new study released on the giving habits of the rich.

Affluent donors who had donated an average of more than $83,000 in 2007 gave only about $54,000 on average two years later during the heart of the economic downturn, according to the study by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

BoardSource, the premier voice in nonprofit governance, released the Nonprofit Governance Index 2010 at the annual BoardSource Leadership Forum in San Francisco.

According to the Index, 71 percent of chief executives believe racial/ethnic diversity on their board has value to their organization's mission, and 55 percent consider it to be a priority of their organization.  However, just 28 percent of the chief executives surveyed reported being satisfied with the degree of racial/ethnic diversity on their board.