DEC. 8, 2003

PHILANTHROPY
Charities 2004: A gulf between giving and need

This winter charities are facing more needs because of the uncertain economy. At the same time, they say they're being squeezed by new or increasing factors that mean that people who are hungry, homeless, poorly clothed, or jobless may find less help than in years past:
• Government budget cuts.
• Shrinking endowments and reductions in grants.
• Anxiety among donors over the war in Iraq.
• Competition for dollars among charitable groups, which can make donors tune out if they feel they have been asked for money too many times from too many organizations.
• Donors who are facing their own financial hardships.
• Demand for accountability following problems with some Sept. 11 funds.
• Debate over the role of faith-based organizations.
• Denominational issues, such as the controversy over the consecration of an openly gay Episcopal bishop

As always, philanthropy is about organizations, trends, finances and economics. But at heart it is about people: what motivates people to give, how people end up in need and how it benefits both receiver and giver when help is freely given. While big grants and corporate gifts matter, individuals matter more, according to the Giving USA 2003 report: Giving by individuals represented more than 76 percent of all charitable giving in 2002, and 70 percent of households made contributions.

Why it Matters
Care for the less fortunate is a tenet of every major religion. Nonprofits count on year-end contributions, but nervousness over war and the economy could lead to a bleak holiday season for nonprofits - and those they serve.

Questions for reporters
• Explore charitable giving in your area by seeking out the human factor. Talk to people who give to charities. Why do they give? Are they giving more or less this year? What do they say motivates them? Find someone is who giving more when they actually have less than in years past and find out why they give.
• What do people who are approaching charities for help say about their situations? How have they changed in the last year? How does help make a difference?
• Do potential donors say they are tired of too many requests for help from nonprofits?
• Do charities in your area have enough money and donations to meet needs? Or are they cutting staff and services because of money problems?
• Do nonprofits say they feel they are competing with each other for donors' dollars? Are they collaborating, or considering it? What challenges do funders and donors say they face in trying to get charities to work together?
• What are charities doing creatively to cope with any economic crunches?
• Are denominational issues - the Catholic Church scandals, the consecration of a gay Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire - affecting charitable giving?
• Are local donors anxious over the war in Iraq and future terrorism?
• Are local donors still concerned about accountability since problems with some Sept. 11 funds? What have nonprofits done to address those concerns?

Skip to background

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• Eugene "Gene" Tempel is executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which has its headquarters at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. A professor of philanthropic studies, higher education and public administration, Tempel is a nationally recognized expert in the study and practice of philanthropy, nonprofit management and fund raising. He is the editor of Hank Rosso's Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising (Jossey-Bass, 2003). Tempel says the uncertain economy has presented challenges for nonprofits, some of which are facing both difficulties raising money and an increased demand for services. Contact him through communications manager Adriene Davis, 317-236-4912, adrldavi@iupui.edu.
• Ram Cnaan is a professor of social work at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He specializes in volunteerism, social work and religion, and he established the school's Program for the Study of Religion and Social Work. He is co-author of The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare (New York University Press, 2002) and lead author of The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership (Columbia University Press, 1999). Contact 215-898-5523, cnaan@ssw.upenn.edu.
• Paul G. Schervish is a sociology professor at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., where he directs the Social Welfare Research Institute. He directed the "Study on Wealth and Philanthropy" and the study "The Contradictions of Christmas: Troubles and Traditions in Culture, Home, and Heart." With the institute's associate director, John J. Havens, Schervish is directing the study "The Emerging Material and Spiritual Determinants of Charitable Giving by Wealth Holders." Contact 617-552-4070, schervis@bc.edu.
• The National Center for Charitable Statistics, based in Washington, D.C., is the national repository of data on the nonprofit sector in the United States. It is a program of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. Contact Linda Lampkin, program director, 202-261-5806, llampkin@ui.urban.org, or Thomas H. Pollak, assistant director, 202-261-5801, tpollak@ui.urban.org.
• Jan Shipps, professor emeritus of religious studies and history at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, has studied how the institutional configuration of religion in cities affects philanthropic giving and is working on a book on that subject. She has focused on Indianapolis; Salt Lake City; Seattle; Providence, R.I.; and Lynchburg, Va. Contact 812-325-1580, shipps@iupui.edu.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy covers the nonprofit world. Contact Michael Solomon, manager of external communications, 202-466-1764, press@philanthropy.com, for sources. He also will give journalists passwords to gain access to the magazine web site, and its facts and figures area.
• Philanthropy Journal covers nonprofits. Contact Todd Cohen, editor and publisher, 919-890-6241, tcohen@ajf.org.
• Independent Sector is a nonprofit coalition with headquarters in Washington, D.C. Contact Carla Bundy, 202-467-6134, Carla@independentsector.org, or Patricia Nash, 202-467-6132 or 202-262-1531 (cell), patricia@independentsector.org.
• The Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance is a charity watchdog based in Arlington, Va. Contact 703-276-0100.
• The Association of Fundraising Professionals is based in Alexandria, Va. In general, the AFRP reports a huge surge in competition, which, combined with the uncertain economy, is having a big impact, especially on small to midsize organizations. Read about the AFP survey "The State of Fundraising 2002" and about members' comments in April 2003 about the war on Iraq's impact on fund raising. Contact Michael Nilson, public affairs director, 800-666-3863 ext. 481, mnilsen@afpnet.org.
• Kendall Webb is founder and executive director of JustGive.org, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to connect people with the charities and causes they care about and to increase overall giving. Contact 866-587-8448, kendall@justgive.org.
• Karen Woods directs the Acton Institute's Center for Effective Compassion in Grand Rapids, Mich., which promotes models of private, voluntary charitable service. She says that as for all nonprofits, the economy is presenting fiscal challenges to faith-based organizations, but the religious principles and personal faith that back their community service encourage faith-based groups to be resourceful and creative. Woods says healthy competition among these groups can cause them to re-evaluate current practices, and sometimes the result is strategic partnerships and expanded community collaboration. Woods says good business practices should alert any public or private funding source to unnecessary duplication. Contact John Couretas, communications manager, Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, 616-454-3080 or jcouretas@acton.org.
• Mark Melia directs fund raising for Baltimore-headquartered Catholic Relief Services, which provides direct aid to poor and disadvantaged people outside the United States. Contact 410-951-7367, mmelia@catholicrelief.org.
• Frank Butler is president of FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities Inc.) and is an expert on philanthropy. He says research among Catholics who regularly attend church shows generally no change in their giving to the church - except that there is a growing group who report not giving to national fund-raising campaigns sponsored by the Catholic bishops. Butler says FADICA has found that parishioners want more financial accountability of church leaders, though he calls it extraordinary that Catholic giving has not declined during a year when overall charitable giving is down some 21 percent nationally. He says this shows that Catholics, while disappointed with church leadership, do not want to punish church-related charities. Contact 202-223-3550, info@fadica.org.

Background

• A sickly economy and anxiety linked to the war in Iraq appreciably weakened the climate for charitable giving in the United States, according to the summer 2003 Philanthropic Giving Index released by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The center should release its next index in December 2003. Read the summer 2003 news release; the full report can be found here.
• Giving in 2002 reached an estimated record of $240 billion, according to Giving USA 2003, a report published by the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, researched and written at the Center on Philanthropy. Read the AAFRC Trust news release.
• People who donate to both religious and secular causes tend to be more generous in giving time and money than people who give only to secular causes, according to the 2002 "Faith and Philanthropy" study (read about it here also), released by the Independent Sector, a coalition of philanthropy programs, and the National Council of Churches.
• After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States - when Americans responded generously for the victims - church member giving also increased for both internal operations and activities beyond local congregations, according to The State of Church Giving through 2001, released in October 2003 by empty tomb inc. of Champaign, Ill. Read the news release.