Читать книгу Achieving Excellence in Fundraising - Группа авторов - Страница 130

Philanthropy and nonprofit organizations play a significant role in American society. The nonprofit sector grew in both numbers and finances from 2006–2016. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute (NCCS Project Team 2020), approximately 1.54 million nonprofits were registered with the Internal Revenue Service in 2016, an increase of 4.5 percent since 2006. This number, however, understates the sector's size by not including nonregistered groups – namely, religious organizations and churches, which are not required to register, as well as small, mostly informal groups. Between 2006 and 2016, the number of registered public charities (501(c)(3) organizations) grew by approximately 20 percent to 1.08 million of the total. Among them, human services comprise the largest subsector (35 percent), followed by education (17 percent), and health (12 percent). Among the smaller subsectors, international/foreign affairs and environment/animals saw the largest growth rates in the number of organizations, increasing by 16 and 10 percent, respectively, during the same period.

Formal and informal volunteering helps nonprofits operate while furthering community building. In 2017, 30.3 percent of adults volunteered through an organization (AmeriCorps 2018b). Volunteers donate to charity double the rate of nonvolunteers, engage in their communities, talk more frequently to neighbors, and vote more often in local elections among other civic activities.

Volunteerism acts at the intersection of instrumental and expressive values of nonprofits. Volunteers provide program delivery and help with fundraising (instrumental); and they embody values like care, hope, and equity (expressive). These values represent a shared articulation of the community values of which the nonprofit organization is a part. Fundraisers have a particular responsibility to ensure that both the instrumental and expressive contributions of volunteers are recognized and remain central to the mission of the organization (Lu Knustsen and Bower 2010).

Turning from volunteerism to donating, Giving USA (2021) estimates 2020 total giving to be $471.44 billion, or 2.3 percent of GDP, a 5.1 percent increase in current dollars (3.8 percent increase in inflation adjusted dollars) over 2019 giving. Since the end of the Great Recession in 2009, the total growth in inflation‐adjusted giving is 37 percent for the 2011–2020 decade. In 2020, three of four sources of giving (individual, foundation, bequest) were at an all‐time high in inflation‐adjusted terms. These data reveal that giving by individuals is the largest share, nearly 70 percent. In 2020, individuals gave $324.10 billion. Individual giving and bequests when combined totaled 78 percent in 2020. Chapter 8 provides additional information about giving trends by subsector.

Finally, it is important to pay attention to donor‐advised fund giving (see Chapter 37) and online giving, including crowdfunding (see Chapter 24). Despite the global crisis, #GivingTuesday (2020) reported a 29 percent increase in participants (34.8 million people) and a 25 percent total giving increase ($2.47 billion compared with $1.97 billion in 2019). Multiple charitable crowdfunding platforms attract both individual and institutional donors including foundations and corporations (Bernholz, Reich, and Saunders‐Hastings 2015; Weinger 2016).

Giving USA and other specialized data sources on volunteerism, nonprofits, donor‐advised funds, online giving, and crowdfunding can empower fundraisers' work. Understanding national data can help fundraisers engage in meaningful conversations with staff and board members about key trends and assist in tracking, comparing, and contextualizing the organization's progress.