At Least It Went Up

A Blackbaud survey of 3,144 non-profits found that charitable giving was up a modest 1.7% in 2012. Overall, the sluggish economy takes the blame; however, subdividing the picture suggests a more complex story:

Faith-based and small charities showed the greatest growth, while international affairs had the greatest decline. One explanation is proximity:

donors increasingly want to give locally—say to a park or an arts council or a hospital. With causes like that, the need for giving and the impact of giving can be more visible than at large, national organizations.

About half of our family's regular annual donations go to the neighborhood church, which in turn participates in several local social-services programs where we can see the results.

International relief organizations have difficulty overcoming the obstacle of distance and the notion that their bureaucracies take too much off the top. Monies spent in the Third World do go a lot further than in the First World if the funds can just get to the right people, but another set of the "right people" have to be running the aid organizations. It is possible to find some worthy candidates, but few of us have the time to do the research.

At least overall giving went up. A negative result would not have been surprising. © 2013 Stephen Yuen