America's family foundations contributed more than $20 billion in 2010 to organizations and people working for the public good, but total giving did not reach its pre-recession peak of $21 billion in 2008. According to the Foundation Center's latest edition of Key Facts on Family Foundations, the 1.1 percent increase in family foundation giving between 2009 and 2010 marks a reversal of the previous year's 3.4 percent decline. Among other key findings in the report: Family foundations account for the majority of giving by independent foundations overall (63 percent in 2010). One-third of all family foundations were established in the 2000s. Education is the top funding priority of family foundations located in the Northeast, Midwest and South, while health accounts for the biggest share … Continue Reading

Google's Sergey Brin made the list as did Miriam and Sheldon Adelson from The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Most-Generous Donors Gave More in 2011 but Still Lag Their Pre-Recession Pace As the stock market resurged last year, so did the charitable giving of the super wealthy. America’s top 50 donors gave a total of $10.4-billion in 2011, up from $3.3-billion the previous year, according to a Chronicle study. One big bequest boosted the total significantly; excluding that gift, the philanthropists on The Chronicle’s list of the most generous Americans contributed $4.4-billion. Twenty-nine people on the list donated $50-million or more, compared with 22 in 2010. Rich people and the fundraisers who woo them expect greater levels of giving this year and next, assuming the economy keeps … Continue Reading

Fidelity Charitable, which operates the U.S.'s largest donor-advised fund program, has announced that its donors' generosity reached an all-time high in 2011, setting records both for incoming contributions to Fidelity Charitable and for the dollar amount of grants made to charitable organizations. Fidelity Charitable donors made more than 380,000 grants, totaling more than $1.3 billion, to nonprofits nationwide during 2011, both up 8 percent compared with 2010. Both of these totals represent the strongest year for outgoing grants to charities in Fidelity Charitable's 20-year history, making 2011 the fifth consecutive year that donors have recommended grants of more than $1 billion, and bringing to $12 billion the total of outgoing grants since Fidelity Charitable's inception. Donors also made … Continue Reading

The United States now ranks the highest in terms of charity in a massive global survey that put the nation in fifth place in 2010, according to CAFAmerica, a member organization of the United Kingdom based Charities Aid Foundation International Network of Offices. According to those surveyed, two out of three Americans said they donated money to charity (65 percent), more than two out of five volunteered their time (43 percent) and roughly three out of four helped a stranger (73 percent). The new “World Giving Index (WGI) 2011” report is based on over 150,000 Gallup polling interviews with members of the public in 153 countries. The 2011 report looks at three aspects of giving behavior of individuals in the preceding month, asking if they have donated money to a charity, volunteered time … Continue Reading

Sixty-five percent of charities surveyed report increased demand for their services in 2011, but just 41 percent saw increased fundraising results in the first nine months of 2011 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Late Fall 2011 Nonprofit Fundraising Study, conducted by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC). Smaller charities, those with less than $3 million in total expenditures and which make up 90 percent of the nation's nonprofit organizations, saw disproportionate declines in funds raised and were more likely to report they are planning budget and services cuts in 2012. In discussing the results, Bob Ottenhoff, president and CEO of GuideStar, a member of the NRC, said: "We know nonprofits are already struggling, and more than half say their fundraising results … Continue Reading

Foundation Source, a provider of support services for private foundations, today released version 2.0 of its philanthropic marketplace, Foundation Source Access. Launched in February of this year, Access lets grant-seeking nonprofits connect with and secure funding from one of the strongest and quickest growing segments in philanthropy today: small to mid-size foundations (between $1 - $50 million in foundation assets). Version 2.0 offers an improved user interface, increased functionality and a completely new look and feel. In the nine months since Access was first launched, more than 1,000 nonprofits registered with the site and hundreds of regional and local 501(c)(3) public charities now use the platform to expose their programs to and secure funding from Foundation Source’s national client … Continue Reading

A new study conducted by the Center on Philanthropy shows that 64 percent of midsize nonprofits aren’t satisfied with just operating in the black. Instead, they define success by striving for financial security that will serve them through tough economic times. Among other findings, the study shows the top two financial objectives cited by respondents were maintaining cash reserves and financial flexibility (38 percent) and assuring an annual surplus for down years (27 percent). The complete study is available here. … Continue Reading