US philanthropy suffers biggest fall in 50 years
The amount of money being donated to charitable endeavours by philanthropists in the US has suffered its sharpest fall in over half a century as the global recession forces donors to tighten their purse strings – but “it could have been a lot worse”, according to a new report.
US philanthropists donated a total of $307bn (£184bn) in 2008, equivalent to 2.2% of the country’s gross domestic product and a 6% - adjusted for inflation - slump on the previous year. This is the biggest fall over 12 months since records began in 1956 and the first drop in 22 years.
The figures are published in a report by research company The Giving USA Foundation, which measures charitable donations annually as a percentage of countries’ GDP.
Del Martin, chairman of the group, said: “It could have been a lot worse. With the US mired in a recession throughout 2008, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that charitable giving would be down.”
Two thirds of charities receiving donations said they experienced a decline in new money last year, according to the report, with the exceptions being religious, public-society benefit and international affairs groups.
Charity from businesses was the hardest hit. Corporate giving, which is closely tied to corporate profits, decreased 4.5 % to $14bn last year. Individual giving, which is always the largest component of charitable contributions, was an estimated $229bn, or 75% of the total, in 2007.
Despite the fall, Martin remains positive about the figure for 2008 and said it was “remarkable” that “individuals, corporations and foundations still provided more than $307bn to causes they support, despite the economic conditions.”
--write to twilkinson@efinancialnews.com
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