June 10, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Writing on the Tactical Philanthropy blog, Sean Stannard-Stockton says there are two “factually accurate headlines” that could have run with the release of Giving USA’s annual study on donations.
Here’s the first one: “Charitable Giving Exceeds $300-Billion. Second Highest Level of Giving Ever!”
And here’s the second: “Charitable Giving Falls Dramatically. Largest Percentage Drop on Record!”
So which is right? Mr. Stannard-Stockton, a frequent contributor to The Chronicle, sees it like this: Charitable giving contracted sharply in 2008, but “that contraction was less than many people feared and the total amount given was within the range of the level of giving seen over the past few years.”
Gifts made directly to secular charities, when adjusted for inflation, fell 8.5 percent, he says, the worst drop on record “but not terribly different than the 6.1 percent drop in 1975.”
“Things are tough,” Mr. Stannard-Stockton continues, “but there was no apocalypse.”
How do you read Giving USA’s findings?
