The Sky is Not Falling
Why that already-infamous report about the 2022 decline in charitable giving doesn’t signal the end of days for your fundraising success.
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Fundraising in the Face of Inflation
If you have been to the grocery store lately, I don’t have to explain to you that we are experiencing inflation. My guess is when the screen displayed the total…
Read MoreMillennial Giving Continues to Grow Through Non-Traditional Methods
The last few decades of charitable giving have been driven in large part by donors in the Baby Boomer generation and older, with Gen X donors becoming bigger players in…
Read MoreNew Numbers Support Engaging Clients on Charity
For advisors, recent numbers from the 2021 Bank of America Study on Philanthropy indicate an alarming need for charitable advising from affluent donors.1 It also suggests a growing interest from…
Read MoreA New Perspective on Donor Advised Fund Regulation
As the fastest growing vehicle in charitable giving, donor advised funds (DAFs) have become a major part of the philanthropic landscape in America1. There are numerous features that have contributed…
Read MoreBefore You Give: The Principles You Need to Plan Effective Generosity
Guest Author: Hilgardt Lamprecht helps his clients live out their purpose and work toward their retirement dreams. His Christian faith and dedication to helping others are the cornerstones of his…
Read MoreThink Like a Cause Champion
What charitable causes are close to your heart? Whether you have had a family member impacted by a disease that you want to see cured, you continually pray for the…
Read More2021—A Pivot Year for Charitable Giving
Where will charitable giving go in 2021? It is a critical question. Why? In recent years, total charitable giving has run in the $400 billion range. The nonprofit sector contributes…
Read MoreA Year for Interdependence
There is so much to celebrate throughout God’s Kingdom in 2020 and great anticipation for what we can accomplish this upcoming year. I think of two proverbs that can help…
Read MoreA New 20/20 Focus
How many of you are ready to turn the page on 2020? It has been one for the record books and one we are all ready to see become history.…
Read MoreTrends in Next Generations’ Giving
As time moves steadily on, the generational demographics of the world are gradually shifting. Elders and Boomers are aging, and new generations are coming into their own. What does all…
Read MoreWhere is 2020 Giving Going?
The Too Early Predictions for 2020 Charitable Giving: What We Know Now and Where it May Go Buildings closed. Events canceled. Shelter in place is part our language now. With…
Read MoreThe Uncertain Future of Giving
What do you think of the future of charitable giving? The July 2018 Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on the Giving USA annual report for 2017. There, they noted the rise to $410 billion of charitable giving. But their headline speaks of the doubt behind those numbers: Giving Grows for the Fourth Straight Year, but is the Future of Philanthropy Bright? While there is much to celebrate, the Chronicle notes: “…the data reveals some worrying trends.” The article itself didn’t go out of its way to point out those trends in a dramatic way. But here’s the point. Giving by individuals grew modestly. Giving by individuals grew just 3% and bequests by only 1%. To draw out the point, the decline in giving by the War Generations is a reality. At one point, those generations were the backbone of giving, and while the Boomer Generation appears to be following with a similar giving pattern, subsequent generations don’t seem to hold the same promise. The Millennials, for instance, are the least churched generation our country has had. Typically, church attendance is the biggest single predictor of giving. Many of these points were drawn out in Charity Shock: Ten Critical Trends Revolutionizing the Fundraising Industry (2018). Layer on tax law changes, economic and market uncertainty and global trade wars and the situation is ripe for a significant giving downturn. The Chronicle aptly notes: “Pursuing wealthy donors is a matter of survival in a time when fewer people are giving. And big donations seem to be driving growth at many nonprofits…” Additionally, the Chronicle notes “Charities should get serious about seeking planned gifts, given that a huge transfer of wealth is projected over the next decade.” Stated differently, I believe we’ll see a decline of the middle market giver. The middle market giver has often made up the backbone of the budget for many nonprofits. On the other hand, there will be an increasing reliance on the major donor and upon planned gifts. For those ministries who don’t play well in those spaces, they may well face serious declines.
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