As one of 40 members of the Giving Institute, each June we anxiously await the early release of the Giving USA report–the longest running, most comprehensive report on philanthropy in America. This year marks Giving USA’s 57th consecutive annual report.
In 2011, U.S. Charitable giving totaled $298.4 billion, a four percent increase, and the second year to see an increase following two years of declines. One fact that continues to be noteworthy year after year is that the majority of giving in our country continues to come from individuals. Of the $298.42 billion given in 2011, 88 percent came from individuals when combining bequests and individual and family foundation giving.
Giving USA not only provides information about giving in America, but also focuses on other related national trends. You can learn about giving by source. Whether volunteerism is up or down. You can find out why there was a decline in 501(c)(3) organizations last year. And you can delve into your subsector and see if there was an increase or a decrease in giving and why.
On Thursday we will be highlighting some of the key areas of the report in our enewsletter, and will be providing valuable tips to help your organization navigate the year ahead. In the meantime, if you would like to review Giving USA’s FREE executive summary, follow the link on our homepage.
Last week we had the pleasure of presenting Giving USA 2012‘s findings and our analysis to our local AFP-Hampton Roads chapter on the actual day of the release, June 19th. Over the next few months we look forward to presenting this information to our friends and colleagues throughout Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland and through our upcoming webinar. Be sure to check our calendar of events to see if we will be in your area. We hope to see you at one of our presentations!
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