Ministry News

Giving the Good and the Bad

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Friday, 17 April 2009 14:07

For nonprofits trying to survive in this tough economic season, recent surveys show the good, the bad and the obvious. Overall, it comes as no surprise that most nonprofits showed a decrease in giving over the last several months. Yet the disconcerting news comes via a recent survey from GuideStar that found a full 52 percent of all nonprofit organizations' giving declined from October 2008 through February 2009. Among those charities, 21 percent said contributions dropped "greatly," while 31 percent indicated a "modest" drop in donations.

"That more than half of charitable organizations reported a drop in contributions during a period that included the last three months of the year, when giving traditionally rises, indicates the severity of the financial challenges nonprofits are facing," said Bob Ottenhoff, president and CEO of GuideStar.

Adding to the problem, 59 percent of all nonprofits indicated an increase in demand for their services, yet only one-third had cut their annual budgets in the last year. The result is that a reported 8 percent of all nonprofits so far have had to shut down.

So what's the good news amid all the gloom and doom? According to a survey of more than 17,000 people considered regular religious donors, 57 percent expected to give more or the same amount as they did in 2008. Chicago firm Cygnus Applied Research found a significant difference between "actively religious" donors and "nonreligious" ones. On average, an actively religious donor gave $13,356 last year-a full 16 percent more than the average contribution of all other types of contributors. [Religion News Service, 4/17/09; christianpost.com, 4/10/09]