Giving in Perspective

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a great spring!  In Indiana we keep getting hit with rain and storms, as with many other parts of the country.  I don’t remember a time having this many storms with this level of persistence, but with each storm comes some new revelations.  Some of the things we now most like about our home’s property came as the result of recent changes caused, even traumatic changes, by storm damage.  It made me think about the Giving USA report that was released this month.  The more things change, the more we have new revelations and affirmations of what we know.  So, what are some big take-always from this year’s report?  

We learned that current dollar giving was up 0.7% but down 1.7% in inflation-adjusted dollars.  Current-dollar giving matters if we care about donor behavior. The donor who makes a gift in March is not thinking about whether that dollar is going to be worth 2% less in 12 months due to inflation.  Rather current dollar giving tells us more about the behavior of the donor.  For example, last year I gave a dollar, and this year I gave 99 cents or a dollar and 5 cents.  That tells me about behavior, not how much less inflation caused my gift to be worth. Real dollar giving was up.  This total rise is a big deal considering that the early predictions were that giving was going to be down in some estimates as much as 10%.  

We also learned that tax itemizers are giving more.  The economy was soft in late 2018 which caused some giving to drop off in the fourth quarter.  Nearly 50% of giving happens in the 4th quarter.  The research shows us now that many donors decided to make advance gifts in 2017, further reducing total giving in 2018.  This means they gave in the fourth quarter of 2017 gifts that would have been given in 2018 due to the unknown of the tax changes at that time.  

Additionally, we also have research validating that stack/bundle giving happened in 2018 and is continuing to happen in 2019.  This is when donors doubled giving last year OR held off and are giving double this year in order to maximize the standard deduction.  Total individual giving was down only 1.9% but was impacted by a combination of factors that were not all related to the tax bill as illustrated.   

In light of advance 2017 giving, stack/bundling and a soft fourth quarter economy, I see the 2018 giving results as very optimistic. I have this encouraging view without even counting in the positive gains made by corporations and foundations, which were up 5.4% and 7.5% consecutively.  To truly assess the impact of the tax bill, we will need at least another year to see donor trending’s come to fruition. We need to maintain a fuller view of the giving landscape before we make assumptions about what the overall data could be saying. 

So, just like the storms that have hit our state, the last year and the influences on giving will drive some changes that can become very positive.  As always, keep focused on engaging donors and volunteers, prioritizing true philanthropic sustainability, and engaging the donor as a lifelong advocate for a cause.  Don’t go out just trying to convert dog lovers to love cats.

Thanks again to all of you for pursuing a focus to transform society.  We know that people are still giving, and the number one reason they stop giving is because they don’t think anyone cares.  The number one reason they don’t give is because no one invited them to give. 

Keep changing lives! 

Warmly, 
Jamie