Donations to top charities increased 3.7% in 2020, driven by the wealthy. WGN Radio 720

In the wake of the most devastating public health emergencies of the century and the resulting economic uncertainties, Americans have more charities than any other nonprofit focused on direct assistance. Provided to United Way Worldwide, followed by The Salvation Army and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, according to a new ranking by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The most notable increase in charitable donations last year occurred at Feeding America, a national network of over 200 food banks. It has grown the fastest of the 100 nonprofits in the Chronicle ranking. Feeding America raised more than $ 515 million last year. That’s more than 3.5 times more than 2019.

But despite the increase, Feeding America officials, like other nonprofit leaders, diminish the urgency of a health and economic crisis, but what happens if demand for philanthropic services continues? I’m worried about

Casey Marsh, Chief Development Officer at Feeding America, said: “The camera has begun to move away from the food bank line, but the line hasn’t disappeared. It’s very important that people stick to us.”

In the Salvation Army, officials are worried that Americans may refrain from feeling the urgency of a pandemic nearly two years later. “Of course, like any nonprofit, we’re afraid of donor fatigue,” said Dale Banon, Salvation Army’s National Community Relations and Development Secretary.

The findings come from the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s favorite American charitable ranking of organizations that receive the most direct financial support from individuals, foundations and businesses. Chronicles collect information from federal information tax returns and other reports submitted by nonprofits to determine which organization worked best.

For every $ 11 donated in 2020, about $ 1 was donated to 100 nonprofits on this list. This shows that the proportion of large nonprofits is very high compared to more than one million other charities in the United States.

Large charities have a large share of the American dollar, but not as much as nonprofits last year. After adjusting for inflation, the top 100 charities increased 2.7% from 2019. Overall, last year’s charitable donations increased 3.8% in 2020, according to estimates in the annual Giving USA report.

The percentage of Americans making donations has been declining for decades and is now only at 50%, despite the ever-increasing total donations. However, the pandemic has increased the reliance of charities on donors who can give the greatest gifts, which is likely to continue, said Eric Javier, managing director of consulting firm CCS Fundraising.

“If the market stays high and full employment is delayed, I predict this trend will continue. Charities will depend on the wealthiest donors,” he wrote in an email. “These donors have both financial and psychological comfort to consider major gifts.”

However, nonprofits like The Salvation Army and Feeding America are not the only organizations that can accept tax-deductible donations. In recent years, many HNWI donors have opted to donate to charitable donations housed in donor-advised funds, commercial banks, community foundations, and other charities.

Donors receive an immediate tax cut on donations to these funds, but there is no schedule required to direct these funds to nonprofits. As such, Chronicles do not count them in a ranking that focuses on the money that flows from the hands of donors into the charities that work today.

Still, the size of these donor-advised funds compared to other nonprofits is striking. Fidelity Charitable alone earned more than $ 10.7 billion last year, almost triple the $ 3.6 billion United Way Worldwide (# 1 in the survey, 3.3% increase from 2019), the amount collected by the Salvation Army. It is almost 6 times as much as.

United Way Worldwide has undergone major changes as wealthy people compete for funding in an environment where philanthropic dominance dominates. It was once defined by a workplace donation campaign that seeks regular and modest contributions from everyday people. However, these efforts have declined over the years, down 15% in 2020. This is mainly due to pandemic remote work or layoffs.

With a donation of over $ 10,000, the organization was able to increase its cash support by more than 3% from 2019 to 2020. For the first time since 2014, these significant contributions mean that United Way Worldwide donations have increased year by year. Among those big gifts was a donation from Jeff Bezos novelist and ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, who backed 46 United Way affiliates across the United States.

While relying on wealthy Americans to generate successful funding in legacy social welfare groups, United Way Worldwide Chief Investor Relations Officer Trilab became less dependent on the working class. I am worried that the nature of the United Way will change.

“United Way likes to think of themselves as democratized philanthropy,” says Love. “Reducing the number of people who decide where philanthropic resources go is a danger or risk and can deprive everyday community supporters of their rights.”

One of the reasons why major donors felt bold about making big donations last year was the booming stock market. Some charities, especially universities, have decided to launch a large fundraiser to attract big gifts from the wealthy.

“There is momentum and interest in philanthropy,” says Karin George, managing principal of Washburn & McGoldrick, a funding company that works primarily with independent schools and universities.

Nonprofits say donors have benefited from being willing to provide operating costs, such as paying for utilities and technology, rather than frequently allocating assistance to specific programs.

In 2020, individual donors to YMCA in the United States (No. 63; raised $ 338 million in 2020, down 3.3% from 2019) to fund the services offered by the charity. Beyond the usual gifts, the national office of a direct charity. These contributions helped Headquarters set up programs that include childcare programs for essential workers who lived in the community under stress from natural disasters, illness outbreaks, and other challenges.

Its Chief Advanced Officer, Rebecca Bowen, acknowledges some big unprompted gifts to YMCA’s national media coverage across the country to meet the needs of the community. A big thing came in after NPR published an article at YMCA featuring pictures of children in a childcare program pretending to be a plane to keep social distance.

“The adviser who called said,’My donor saw the picture,'” Bowen said.

Even the charity that raised banners in 2020 is uncertain how the pandemic changed the way Americans think about the best ways to do good.

“What if all the people in this country live for a year and a half?” Sarah Rubin, Vice President of Development at Ohio State University, wonders (No. 51, Raised $ 398 million in 2020, up 11.8% from 2019). “For some people it is inspiring to focus on what is important in life, in some cases it promotes philanthropy and for others it reduces it.”

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Lauren Barak and Debra E. Bloom of the Chronicle of Philanthropy contributed to the report. Ahaan Sabherwal and Eden Stiffman supported data collection.

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This article was contributed to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Emily Haynes and Michael Tace are Chronicle staff writers. Email: emily.haynes@philanthropy.com. APs and Chronicles are supported by the Lily Foundation for philanthropic and non-profit organizations. AP and Chronicle are solely responsible for all content. For all coverage of AP’s philanthropy, please visit https://ift.tt/3bRtSuz.

Donations to top charities increased 3.7% in 2020, driven by the wealthy. WGN Radio 720

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