Donor Confidence Lowest Since ‘08

According to a new poll released by marketing research firm Campbell-Rinker, their overall Donor Confidence Index (DCI) fell 3.2 points between June and August 2010, to 86.5, a score which is lower than any point since December 2008.

The Index takes into account donors’ self-reported expectations about their giving, their view of the nonprofit sector, the nation’s economic health, among several other factors. No individual nonprofit sector fared well.

Additional highlights include:

• About half of all American donors say that unexpected expenses have had a negative effect on their giving.
• Pre-boomers are more confident from a donor perspective than older generations.
• Boomers remain the age group with the lowest confidence level; this group’s confidence score fell 3.9 points to 81 in August.
• As we enter into mid term elections, note that 53 percent of donors are dissatisfied with the country’s direction up from 6 percent last year.
• 12 percent of donors expect the economy to decline even further in 2011.