Not quite as much as the nation as a whole, according to a new study released by the charitable research company Atlas of Giving. Californians gave more to nonprofits and charities last year than they did in 2010, but still lagged behind the national average. All states experienced growth in philanthropy during 2011 with a total of $346 billion given nationally. Donations to nonprofits posted an overall 7.5 percent rise from the prior year, the study said. In California, charitable giving grew by 7.1 percent.
But did it feel like a 7% growth factor for most local education foundations in the Golden State? Maybe not.
The report should be viewed with guarded optimism, according to Ruth Blank, executive director of the Sacramento Community Region Foundation, in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. SCRF is the largest local overseer of charitable funds established by individuals, families, businesses and organizations in the region. A recent study by SCRF found that the average annual contribution per donor household in Sacramento was $1,990 compared to the national average of $2,355, a rate that would translate into an extra $250 million for charitable organizations locally.
Blank noted that Atlas of Giving, a new firm in the charitable giving research field, is using a new analytics and algorithmic approach to crunching data and forecasting.
In the Atlas report, one of the most significant gains was made in the education sector – an almost 10 percent increase. "There are a lot of programs that are not supported in public schools anymore, so private dollars are going there," Blank said.
However, higher education may have skewed the averages for yearly giving to education, according to Stacy Palmer, editor with the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Universities typically are the recipients of large gifts – and 2011 was no exception. USC received a $200 million gift and Stanford University received a $150 million gift in 2011. UC Davis saw a $10 million gift toward construction of a new art museum on campus. Since philanthropy tends to be tied to economic conditions, last year's stock market gains may have been a factor in freeing up funds that had been held back by large donors in prior years.
Palmer explained that while some groups were doing a lot better, others were doing worse or staying flat. Groups that get money from the middle class seem to be the ones in trouble, she said. Like schools, religious organizations and churches rely on large numbers of small personal donations that have fallen off as unemployment remained in double digits. This is significant because in many California communities, LEFs rely heavily on middle class families and small businesses for their financial bottom line. As big ticket donors give more to public education, they may be inflating the overall average as the smaller donor is less able to give in an uncertain economy. In viewing this new study, most LEFs in California should presume that a 10% growth factor in 2012 is unrealistic.
Is the funding future getting brighter? One indicator may be Fidelity Charitable, the third biggest nonprofit in the country (behind United Way and the Salvation Army). In 2011, the organization raised $2.9 billion, more than it had collected before the recession.
Staying flat may be the new up as LEFs struggle just to keep even.
The changing paradigm in education philanthropy will be the topic of our keynote speaker Kay Sprinkel Grace at the CCEF annual conference, held as one-day events in Anaheim (Feb. 16th) and at Stanford University (Feb. 14th). Call (650) 324-1653 or go to www.cceflink.org to register for this upcoming event.
