Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Last year wasn’t just bad for charitable organizations—it was dreadful. In the 20 years that The Chronicle of Philanthropy has tracked donations to the nation’s biggest charities, the editors had never seen anything like 2009.
From 2008 to 2009, donations plummeted an average of 11% among the Philanthropy 400, the publication’s ranking of top charities. The previous record for year-to-year decline was in 2001, when overall contributions fell 2.8%.
Among the top 10 charities for 2009, six reported declines. Florida-based Food for the Poor saw donations fall 27.6%, while The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund of Boston suffered a 40.3% freefall. Many of the organizations aren’t expecting 2010 to be much better than last year.
Not all organization saw downturns. AmeriCares Foundation, founded by Richard and Alma Jane Macauley, grew 18.1% in 2009. Catholic Charities USA and World Vision also saw increases in donations.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Donations Dropped 11% at Nation's Biggest Charities Last Year (by Noelle Barton and Holly Hall, Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Philanthropy 400 Data (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
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