The folks at GuideStar.org, who, among other things, make available the tax filings of more than 1 million nonprofits for us diligent donors to dissect, recently reported some good and bad news regarding charities.
First, the good. Contributions to charities appear to have increased in the first nine months of this year, compared with the same period last year. Half of the charities surveyed reported donations up, while roughly a quarter each saw flat inflows and decreases. Overall, that's not bad -- though perhaps we might prefer to see a big majority of charities enjoying increased contributions.
The bad news, however, is that 71% of those responding reported an increase in need -- in other words, whatever each of these charities provides, more of it is needed than before. Putting all this information together, it appears that many nonprofits with flat or decreasing donations are facing more demand for their services -- call it a rock and a hard place. Even those organizations receiving more money than last year may not be receiving enough to meet their demands.
A few more interesting details:
- Big charities were more likely to have received increased donations, while smaller ones were more likely to be struggling.
- Of those organizations reporting increased demand for their services, the greatest percentages were in the employment and youth categories.
So what can we do about this? Well, if you were thinking of downsizing your giving, this may not be the best time to do so. Times are tough for many of us, too, though, so if you do donate, take some time to research charities and make sure you're deploying your dollars where they'll do a lot of good. GuideStar.org is one good place to research organizations. Give.org is another.
We also invite you to meet five charities for which we're raising money in our annual Foolanthropy drive. Even if you can't contribute, the organizations would be delighted (really!) if you just get to know them a bit. Of course, if you can chip in just a little (or a lot), that would be even niftier. (Consider donating stock, too -- it's more efficient.)
Here are this year's organizations, in a nutshell:
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Canine Companions for
Independence: Enhancing the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.
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First Book: Giving children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.
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Habitat for Humanity International: Seeking to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.
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Heifer Project International: Empowering people to lift themselves out of poverty in a sustainable way with gifts of farm animals and training.
- Spirit of America: Extending the good will of the American people to assist those advancing freedom and peace abroad.
We invite you to share any Foolanthropic thoughts on our Foolanthropy discussion board -- or just drop in to see what others are saying.
Here are some other Foolish thoughts on giving:
Finally, this article from earlier this year discusses how to change the world, touching on some companies such as Apple
Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian owns shares of Microsoft.
