2012 Total Giving to Nonprofits Grew 6.7%

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Environmental Causes LedAll Sectors, Growing by 11% in 2012

DALLAS, Texas (January 23, 2013)—Atlas of Giving today announcedtotal giving to nonprofits rose 6.7% in 2012, an increase of $23.32 billionover 2011. According to a report released today by The Atlas of Giving, givingto environmental causes grew by 11% in 2012, more than any other portion of theU.S. charitable economy.

“Overall, 2012 was a very solid year for giving,” Rob Mitchell, CEOof The Atlas of Giving, said. “Robust stock market performance, an improvingeconomy, and a few very large individual contributions were significantfactors.”

Gifts to the education sector increased by 8.8%, as diddisaster-related giving, the latter fueled in large part by donations in theaftermath of super-storm Sandy, which wreaked havoc on portions of the U.S.east coast in late October.

Meanwhile giving to religion, the long dominant charitable sector,saw continued erosion of its share of the national giving pie. As recently as2002, religious giving accounted for over 50% of all charitable donations. Bycontrast, giving to religion accounted for just 35% of the 2012 total. 

Overall giving was buoyed by economic factors beyond the financialmarkets. Home sales hit a five year peak in 2012, and home prices appeared tobe on the rise as the rate of foreclosures fell. Real GDP also experiencedaccelerated growth.

Still, Mitchell cites continued high unemployment as a persistentdetriment to giving for many Americans, a dynamic which does not impact allcharities equally.

“The manner in which a given nonprofit raises money has everythingto do with what effect unemployment has on gift receipts,” Mitchell, said.“Organizations that rely on large numbers of relatively small gifts fromindividuals are hit the hardest when unemployment is high.”   

2012 saw the announcement of several “mega-gifts” by individuals.Mitchell believes that a concern over possible elimination or diminishmentof the charitable income tax deduction was motivational for these and manyother gifts from wealthy individuals in 2012. Some of these “mega-gifts”included:

•   $3 billion given by Omaha investor Warren Buffet to charitablefoundations operated by each of his three children

•   $499 million donated by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Siliconvalley Community Foundation

•   $300 million pledged by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to his AllenInstitute for Brain Science

•   $200 million given to Columbia University’s Mind Brain BehaviorInstitute by billionaire publisher and real estate tycoon Mortimer Zuckerman

Looking ahead to 2013, the picture is expected to be dramaticallyless rosy. The Atlas of Giving 2013 giving forecast calls for only modestgrowth of 1.6%, one of the slowest growth rates in 50 years. Expected declinesin stock market returns, coupled with a 2% across the board hike in the payrolltax will hamper growth.  An elimination or reduction of the charitablededuction would most certainly have an even greater negative impact on giving.

“The stock market and growing GDP is primarily what made 2012 areasonably good year for many nonprofits. Our analysis tells us that forecasteddrops in the investment markets will produce corresponding drops in giving,”Mitchell said.  “At the same time, the drop in discretionary incomeresulting from the 2% payroll tax hike will be a factor in individual andfamily giving decisions.”  

The Atlas forecast is the only one of its kind in the nonprofit world,providing an informed 12-month projection on charitable giving. Details areavailable at www.atlasofgiving.com.