August 18, 2004 | Read Time: 1 minute
Q. I read somewhere that a significant percentage of donations are planned gifts. What’s the exact number?
A. Bequests accounted for 9 percent of all giving in the United States in 2003, or an estimated $21.6-billion, according to “Giving USA,” an annual report on charitable giving in the United States compiled by the Giving USA Foundation, a unit of the Trust for Philanthropy of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, in Glenview, Ill. It’s a relatively small piece of the total philanthropic pie, compared with donations from living individuals, which account for 74.5 percent of all private gifts, or donations from foundations, which account for 10.9 percent of all gifts, according to the report. But the share of donations given by bequest is climbing, increasing by 10.3 percent since 2002, the report said, due to an increase in household net worth, and also to the distribution of a few large estates. The Internal Revenue Service has more data on planned gifts.You can read more about donor trends here or get a copy of the report yourself by going to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel’s Web site, calling (888) 544-8464, or writing to AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, P.O. Box 1020, Sewickley, Pa. 15143-1020. Paper versions of the report cost $65 each; a CD-ROM version is available for $135.
If you would like to learn more about planned giving, check out the National Committee on Planned Giving, and also the Foundation Center’s list of resources on the subject.
