February 27, 2012 | AUTHOR: Eileen R. Heisman
Today marks the ninth annual International Corporate Philanthropy Day. Started in 2004, the day is an opportunity for corporations to recommit to their philanthropic goals.
January 20, 2012 | AUTHOR: Eileen R. Heisman
Bank of America just released its 2011 Study of High-Net Worth Women’s Philanthropy. For years, women have been known as active volunteers. But their charitable giving has long trailed the amount given by men, as women often mirror their spouse’s philanthropy.
December 15, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
After collecting data over the past year, we are happy to release our 2011 Donor-Advised Fund Report.
One of the highlights in this year’s report includes a marked increase in contributions to donor-advised funds. National charities received nearly $4 billion, which was an increase of 42.3% from the previous year and more than half of contributions to all sponsoring charities.
December 12, 2011 | AUTHOR: Eileen R. Heisman
My last post on donor-advised fund payout rates turned out to be quite timely. During the week of December 5, 2011, the Treasury Department released its long-awaited study on donor-advised funds and supporting organizations.
The Treasury Department’s study used 2006 data, but found that payout rate from donor-advised funds is substantially higher than the 5 percent required of private foundations. According to the Treasury’s study [which, again, uses slightly dated figures] the payout rate for national donor-advised fund programs ranged from 14.2 to 28.7 percent. These findings closely mirror the data in NPT’s annual Donor-Advised Fund Report.
December 06, 2011 | AUTHOR: Eileen R. Heisman
Last month, the New York Times ran an op-ed by academic Ray Madoff on donor-advised funds (DAFs). In her piece, Ms. Madoff painted a picture of DAFs as a kind of “warehouse” for charitable contributions. As the President and CEO of a national DAF program, I find this characterization misleading and a disservice to donors and the charitable sector.
While many DAF programs are not legally required to meet a minimum annual payout, the majority have guidelines to ensure that DAFs actively make grants. In fact, the overall payout rate for DAFs is nearly four times that of private foundations.
October 31, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
Grantmaking is a key piece of information that we measure in our Donor-Advised Fund Report. This year, when we looked at all different kinds of donor-advised fund programs, we found a modest increase (1.3%) in the total amount of dollars granted. The combined number was $6.2 billion, the second highest we’ve seen since our report began.
September 30, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
For the Donor-Advised Fund Report, NPT’s annual survey of donor-advised fund programs, we break down sponsoring charities into three categories: National Programs, Community Foundations and Special Focus Groups. National Programs include charities created by financial service companies and Special Focus Groups include faith-based institutions, universities and “single issue” charities.
August 31, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
Every year, National Philanthropic Trust conducts an analytical survey of donor-advised fund programs. The full report of our findings will be published and available at nptrust.org by the middle of fall. That said, our data is 98% collected and we have some preliminary findings to share.
July 22, 2011 | AUTHOR: Eileen R. Heisman
Last week, Congressmen Wally Herger and Earl Blumenauer introduced an important bill in the House of Representatives. It’s called the Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2011 (HR2502). This legislation, along with its companion in the Senate (S557), proposes to amend the Internal Revenue Code and permanently allow donors to make tax-free charitable gifts from their individual retirement accounts to charity. In addition, it would allow, for the first time, tax-free charitable gifts to donor-advised funds, supporting organizations and private foundations.
June 27, 2011 | AUTHOR: Eileen R. Heisman
Last week, when Giving USA released its annual statistical report on charitable giving, it was hard to ignore the impact of donor-advised funds. One of the most significant numbers in the report is the 6.2% increase in public-society benefit organizations. Giving USA attributed this increase to “the growth in giving of appreciated assets to donor-advised funds, especially from high-net-worth donors who see advantages of giving to these funds over giving to private foundations.”
April 20, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
Charitable giving was on the rise in 2010 and a new report from Blackbaud, Inc. shows that the trend has continued into 2011. In the three-month period that ended this February, charitable giving rose 3% when compared with the same period last year. This represents the seventh consecutive period of increased giving, according to Chuck Longfield, Blackbaud’s chief scientist and creator of the Blackbaud Index.
March 11, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
In the wake of the earthquakes that struck Japan, many donors will be seeking information on how best to support relief efforts in that part of the world. Simply put, the most efficient and effective way to help is by donating money to a humanitarian organization operating relief programs in the affected region. Monetary donations are fast and organizations can use them to purchase the exact type and quantity of items they need. Furthermore, a gift of money helps ensure that relief efforts contribute to the long-term sustainability and self-reliance of the affected region.
March 03, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, a number of leading experts and institutions are attempting to predict future trends and developments in philanthropy. This is a difficult intellectual excercise, but important for donors to keep in mind as they determine their philanthropic goals and objectives.
March 02, 2011 | AUTHOR: Andrew Hastings
People often discount the practical side of philanthropy. In my experience, donors have a pretty clear sense of the charities they wish to support. Most often, these include their place of worship, alma mater, or a health care issue that has affected themselves or their family. What they often lack is context for their giving.
