Three Fundraising Trends That Really Matter
By: Chip Grizzard, 08/08/03

Much has been written recently in the trade and mainstream media after the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy released its Giving USA annual report on philanthropy for 2002.


This report provides a very detailed 30-year analysis of charitable giving in America.  Trends can be studied for sources of contributions, as well as the type of recipient organizations. 

There is a lot of information in this report to digest.  However, more importantly, we all have to learn what to do with the information once we have assimilated it.

Most people review reports like this to determine what trends are developing that affect charitable giving.  I'd like to address three trends that you won't necessarily find articulated in the executive summary.

The first is that overall charitable giving, despite all the 'gloom and doom' reports we've been subjected to in recent years, in reality, is growing - as it has for many years.  In fact, over the past thirty years, there has only been one year when charitable giving in constant dollars has decreased from the previous year.  That was in 1987 when two events occurred.  First, the stock market crashed in October of that year - - just before the most significant charitable giving months.  But that occurrence alone probably would not have caused giving to be down, if it had not been for the second event.  In 1986, Congress passed a reduction in individual tax rates that took effect in 1987 and many people moved part of their 1987 giving into 1986, when the deduction meant more to them.

Giving between 1990 and 2000 doubled, although in 2001 and 2002, when we had a terrible fundraising environment, giving continued to increase.  The numbers may have moved upward only slightly, but it was an  increase nevertheless.  When the IRS released its giving figures for 2001 -- a year in which many thought giving had decreased -- most everyone, including the IRS, was stunned.   After reviewing  the IRS  figures, Giving USA later revised its giving estimates for 2001 upward by $26.4 billion!  The  re-stated estimate changed what had originally been a .5% increase to an  increase of 12% -- an amazing turnaround.

The overall charitable giving trend shows that philanthropy in America remains strong and  resilient to the uncertainty of the economy and  world  events.  It also demonstrates that organizations need to continue their fundraising efforts, or increase them.  This holds true even in years that don't seem to present the best fundraising climate.

The second trend, one even more important than overall giving, is that the success of any organization's fundraising programs depends more on its strategy and execution, rather than external market conditions.  Giving USA found that in 2002, 49% of the organizations surveyed said that their charitable revenue was up.  Five percent said it was about the same, and 46% said it was down.   The Association of Fundraising Professionals conducted a similar survey and basically came up with the same results.  So even though charitable giving was up overall, all organizations haven't experienced an increase.

The point here is that what really matters, is not what is happening with fundraising overall -- but what is happening to you.  The recent years have certainly been difficult for fundraisers and I won't bore you by reciting the many reasons, which you already know.   However, during these times, it seems to me that the organizations that have done the best are those that have "stayed the course" -- or have even stepped up their fundraising efforts. 

I'll give you a case that illustrates the point.  Between 1999 and 2002, a local children's hospital increased the number of individual donors in its major gifts club (an annual gift of $10,000 or more) from 38 to 140  -- a very significant three-year increase, considering the very difficult  period in which the spike occurred.  Bottom line:  those 140 donors gave a total of just under $5,000,000 in 2002, most of which was undesignated money to the hospital!

The third trend is one you'll never see in any statistical report, a hard truth that for many is already self-evident.  It simply gets harder each and every year to raise money.  One obvious reason is  the growth of worthy organizations competing for the charitable dollar.  But probably the more overlooked reason is that more and more fundraisers are better at what they do. So, not only is there more competition, the competition is better.

I remember approaching my father once when I had a serious problem. After explaining the details to him and asking his advice, he responded, "Son, if it were easy, we wouldn't need you to do it."  Your job as a fundraiser today isn't easy, but your organization needs you to do it.

 How? The short answer is to challenge yourself to become a better fundraiser.  One way of approaching this is to adopt  the previous US Army recruitment slogan, "Be all that you can be." 

There are a lot of things you can do to reach that goal. For example,  if you're not already,  become a member of groups like AFP,  as well as industry groups that focus on your organization's particular cause.  Attend their meetings, join a committee, and, if you possibly can, take on a project.  The education and networking opportunities are significant.  Also, if you don't already, read the nonprofit sector's most influential trade publications.  There's a wealth of knowledge-expanding information - and resources - included in virtually any issue you read.

And here's one final suggestion:  Call at least 5 donors every day and just say "Thank you, you're important to us.  And, if there is ever anything I can do to help you, please let me know."

 It will show that your time - and their money - was well spent.