Thursday, June 18, 2020

$449.64 BILLION TO CHARITY IN 2019

In 2019, Giving USA Foundation reported substantial growth in charitable contributions increasing to $449.64 billion, up from $427.71 billion in 2018. The ten key giving sectors– Religion, Education, Human Services, Foundations, Health, Public-Society Benefit, Arts and Culture, International Affairs, Environment/Animals, and Individuals– all saw increases. Strong philanthropic results were driven most by a strong stock-market, a robust economy, full employment and consumer confidence.

That was then: this is now. The full effect of Covid-19 is still unknown. Though the stock market has so far mostly rebounded from a full-on crash a few months ago, the stock market does not define the economy. Staggering unemployment, and economic collapse marked April. May and June. Though there has been some recovery in soft goods consumer spending, and better unemployment figures for May, the charitable sector is, for the most part, struggling. It is well to remember that the US charitable sector, overall, is almost inevitably, a trailing, not a leading edge.

Though the nation is slowly re-opening, the triple whammy of the coronavirus; the long overdue reckoning with racism in America; and the absolute craziness of this election year – each a black swan event on its own – combined with the time lost, all makes for a stiff wind. We know that around 40% of giving is generated in the last quarter of the calendar year. That 40% may hold: but the it’s other 60% that’s rocky. Expect a dip. If the sector makes the 2018 number 0f $449 billion, that would be a huge win. 

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