Blackbaud, Inc. has announced the release of Growing Philanthropy in the United States, a report featuring recommendations defined to increase charitable giving to nonprofit organizations. Co-authored by Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang of Indiana University the report is based on research from the Growing Philanthropy Summit.

The report contains 32 recommendations focused on enhancing the quality of donor relationships; developing public trust and confidence in nonprofits; identifying audiences, channels and forms of giving with a strong potential for growth; and enhancing the quality of fundraising training and development.

Key recommendations include:

• Shifting the focus in fundraising practice away from technique toward the encouragement of individual philanthropy;
• Redesigning the structure of fundraising education, particularly for more senior practitioners;
• The creation of a research institute that would focus solely on fundraising research and adding value for donors; and
• The development of a public educational initiative that would dispel common myths about the way the sector operates and thus enhance the public trust.

Recommendations are offered for individual nonprofits, sector umbrella and professional bodies, but also critically, for the large foundations with an interest in growing philanthropy. The authors map out the ideas that with the proper investment could make the biggest difference to philanthropy in this country.

You can download the Growing Philanthropy recommendations at blackbaud.com/growingphilanthropy.