How Charitable Giving Fared During Crises in U.S. History

Political turmoil, military confrontations, and economic turbulence can all affect what types of charities Americans support — but they generally do not cause overall giving to decline, according to a study of 13 crises in U.S. history conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University for the American Association of Fundraising Counsel. Since 1960, the only year total giving declined was 1987, the year of a global financial downturn. A report on the study is available at http://www.aafrc.org.

Fall of France (May 1940) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -2.2% After 30 days -24.5% After 365 days -20.9%		Pearl Harbor (Dec. 1941) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -3.5% After 30 days -3.0% After 365 days -0.7%
Start of Korean War (June 1950) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -4.7% After 30 days -8.9% After 365 days 9.8%		Cuban missile crisis (Aug. 1962) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -0.6% After 30 days -6.1% After 365 days 16.9%
John F. Kennedy assassination (Nov. 1963) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after 1.5% After 30 days 3.8% After 365 days 20.4%		U.S. bombs Cambodia (May 1970) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -0.5% After 30 days -3.7% After 365 days 26.5%
Arab oil embargo (Oct. 1973) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after 0.1% After 30 days -10.9% After 365 days -30.9%		Nixon resigns (Aug. 1974) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -1.3% After 30 days -15.8% After 365 days 6.6%
Stock-market collapse (Oct. 1987) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -18.1% After 30 days -15.6% After 365 days -4.9%		Gulf War ultimatum (Jan. 1991) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after 6.3% After 30 days 17.7% After 365 days 30.7%
World Trade Center bombing (Feb. 1993) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after -0.5% After 30 days 1.9% After 365 days 13.0%		Oklahoma City bombing (April 1995) Percentage change in stock market Day before to day after 1.2% After 30 days 3.9% After 365 days 32.5%