Bank of America

In a really smart move, organizers of the 2013 Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference, which took place in National Harbor, Md., in July, set up chairs and monitors outside some of the more heavily attended sessions so participants who spilled out into the hallways could be comfortable and actually hear the speakers. I…

Giving money away to good causes is the most satisfying part of life for at least half of America’s millionaires and billionaires, according to a survey released Tuesday by U.S. Trust, a subsidiary of Bank of America. Philanthropy ranked highest for a bigger share of the rich than the possessions and lifestyle that come with wealth, according to the study of 711 people with at least $3 million in assets beyond their home. Young rich people were more likely than others to cite philanthropy as the best part of wealth.

Ted Hart speaks with Claire Costello, national philanthropic practice executive for Philanthropic Solutions at the U.S. Trust Bank of America Corp., about the Bank of America High Net Worth Philanthropy Study.

Major donors have changed a lot in what they want and expect from nonprofits. Ten years ago, you could raise good money with a “spray and pray”  appeal that was boring and generic. Now we have to work harder and smarter. The good news is that we can rely on plenty of research about major donors. What are they are thinking about their philanthropy and nonprofits? I’ve culled through the research — and here are my top 10 major-donor trends for 2013, along with a strategy to ride each trend productively.

Thousands of Americans have reached out to victims of Hurricane Sandy, and many are looking for ways to include their children. That kind of thinking is already bearing fruit, from the Point Pleasant, N.J., high school football players who are clearing out their neighbors' flood-damaged furniture to the kids of St. Ann School in Bridgeport, Conn., doing their part by setting up a hot cocoa stand.

Experts say schoolkids' charitable initiatives spike after national disasters such as Sandy. And the lessons learned can stay with children for a lifetime.

The National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light, experts on civic engagement, in partnership with Bloomberg LP, announced the results of The Civic 50. IBM, Citi and AT&T Inc. take top honors in the first comprehensive ranking of S&P 500 companies that best use their time, talent and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

Among wealthy households, average giving as a percentage of household income held steady at approximately 9 percent between 2009 and 2011, despite the challenging economic environment, according to the 2012 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy. The fourth in this series of biennial studies reveals a strong commitment to charitable causes among high net worth donors.

The Republican National Convention Tampa Bay Host Committee brought in nearly $55.3 million in contributions: $44.9 million in cash and $10.4 million in donations of goods or services. The host committee had 18 donors who gave $1 million or more. Those included hedge funds and their founders, high-tech companies, industrialists, CEOs and several charitable trusts. Altogether, those 18 donors accounted for 60 percent of the money raised for the RNC.

Many of America’s biggest nonprofits have officially left the Great Recession behind, but the slow economic recovery continues to dampen results at even the most sophisticated fundraising organizations.

The 400 groups that raise the most from private sources achieved a median 7.5 percent gain last year, the third straight year of median gains for nonprofits in The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Philanthropy 400 rankings.

Nonprofits shouldn’t count on the wealthy to increase donations anytime in the near future: Only one-quarter of them will increase their giving over the next five years, according to preliminary results of a new survey.

The study, conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and sponsored by Bank of America, of more than 700 affluent Americans found that half plan to give the same amount they donated in 2011, while 9 percent plan to decrease their giving.