Philanthropy News & Analysis
Fiscal Cliff Deal Impact on Charitable Giving
February 6, 2013
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, voted into law on January 1, 2013, after a prolonged period of debate and apprehension, retains the tax-deductibility of charitable giving for U.S. taxpayers. GG+A is pleased that Congress and the Administration have reached an agreement that supports the critical importance of private philanthropy to the nation’s social service, educational, and cultural infrastructure, and applauds the thoughtful work of charitable organizations from across the country in making the case on Capitol Hill.
As tax rates on earned and unearned income rise slightly for high-income Americans, taxpayers who itemize deductions will continue to pay less federal income tax as a result of their charitable giving. Major components of the new tax legislation that pertain to charitable giving include the following:
- A reinstatement of the Pease limitation, which imposes a modest reduction in overall itemized deductions (not only charitable gifts, but mortgage interest, state tax, business expenses, medical expenses, and other deductible items) in proportion to total income. This clause was in effect through 2010, and will be familiar to taxpayers who itemized their taxes as recently as three years ago.
- An extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover provision through 2013, which allows taxpayers aged 70 ½ and older to transfer up to $100,000/year in qualified IRA’s to charity without paying income tax on the funds at the time of transfer.
For further details on the ATRA of 2012, please refer to these articles in Council on Foundations and Forbes.
HHS Releases HIPAA Privacy and Security and Breach Notification Rules
January 23, 2013
On January 17, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights released the prepublication copy of the final rules on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security and Breach Notification and the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA). Read more about the Final Rule on the Federal Register's website
Giving Finally Exceeds Pre-recession Levels as Canadian Hospitals Raised More Than $1.35 Billion Last Year
October 3, 2012
Donors to Canada’s health care institutions increased contributions by $151 million last year, 12.5 percent more than in fiscal year 2010. Cash donations and pledges in FY 2011 totaled $1.355 billion, according to the AHP Report on Giving-Canada issued today by the Association for Health Care Philanthropy (AHP). Read more here
AHP Report on Charitable Giving in U.S. and Canada
October 1, 2012
The most current Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Report states that, “Based on the FY 2011 survey, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Report on Giving estimates that U.S. nonprofit hospitals and health care organizations raised $8.941 billion—an 8.2% increase over the previous fiscal year. This number represents a 4% increase from FY 2008’s $8.588 billion, after seeing giving drop to $7.644 billion in FY 2009 in response to the economic recession. Cash accounted for 71.2% of the funds raised during FY 2011, slightly lower than FY 2010’s 75.1 %. Pledges represented 28.8%.” Read the report here
United States Ranks First in Survey of Giving Habits Around the World
September 19, 2012
Using data from Gallup's Worldview World Poll, the second edition of the 'World Giving Index' is the largest study into charitable behavior across the globe involving 153 countries in total. The report is based on three measures of giving behavior - giving money, volunteering time and helping a stranger. The results show that the USA is officially the most charitable nation in the world, moving from fifth place last year to first place this year. Overall the World Giving Index, demonstrates that the world has become a more charitable place over the last 12 months - with a 2% increase in the global population 'helping a stranger' and a 1% increase in people volunteering. Read more herejavascript:mctmp(0);
Giving USA 2012 – Charitable Giving for the Year 2011
June 29, 2012
For more than 50 years, the state of American charitable giving has been chronicled in this authoritative survey by the Giving USA Foundation. Replete with data tables and trend lines, Giving USA provides a comprehensive look at who gives and where. The most recent report found that, despite experiencing the second slowest recovery following a recession since 1971, charitable giving increased for the second straight year in 2011, totaling an estimated $298.42 billion. Click here to purchase the full report or view a free copy of the executive summary
Colleges and Universities Raise $30.30 Billion in 2011
February 15, 2012
Charitable contributions to colleges and universities in the United States increased 8.2 percent in 2011, reaching $30.30 billion, according to results of the annual Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey. The findings were released today by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE). Adjusted for inflation, giving increased 4.8 percent. See the press release at the CAE website (PDF)
Fundraisers Predict Steady Growth in Giving to Education for 2012
January 31, 2012
Fundraisers for schools, colleges and universities estimate that giving to their institutions grew 4.4 percent in 2011 and will grow an additional 4.6 percent in 2012, according to survey results released by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. See the press release at the CASE website
Nonprofit Hospitals Raise $8.26 Billion in Donations in FY2010, With Individual Donors the Majority of Pledges, AHP Reports. But Fundraising Costs More in Recession
June 13, 2011
Despite the poor economy, U.S. nonprofit hospitals and health care systems managed an eight percent increase in philanthropic donations last year, to over $8 billion, with individual donors contributing almost 60 percent of that total. But fundraising costs climbed and return on investment dipped, according to the fiscal year 2010 Report on Giving USA issued today by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP). See the press release at the AHP website
2010 Voluntary Support of Education Findings Released
February 2, 2011
The Council for Aid to Education has released the findings of its 2010 Voluntary Support of Education survey. Contributions to colleges and universities reached $28 billion last year, a 0.5 percent increase from 2009. While overall support in 2010 was comparable to 2006 levels, 51.7 percent of responding institutions reported an increase in contributions, up from one third in 2009. Stanford University was the top fundraising institution, followed by Harvard and Johns Hopkins. See the Top 20 Institutions list
AHP Report on Charitable Giving in U.S. and Canada
September 27, 2010
From the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), September 27, 2010: "Snapshots of charitable support in 2009 have produced two very different pictures for nonprofit health care institutions in the United States and Canada." The Association’s Annual Report on Giving indicated donations dropped $944 million in the US last year from 2008 levels, while rising $56 million in Canada." See the report on charitable giving
United States Ranks Fifth in Survey of Giving Habits Around the World
September 19, 2010
From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, September 19, 2010: "The United States tied for fifth place with Switzerland in a new survey on giving habits in 153 countries, with Australia and New Zealand taking the top spots." The World Giving Index 2010—prepared by Charities Aid Foundation, a British organization—found that 60 percent of Americans had donated money to an organization, 39 percent had volunteered their time to an organization, and 65 percent had helped a stranger in the previous month.
A country’s overall ranking is based on the average score of those three categories and comes from data collected by Gallup’s WorldView World Poll in March 2010. Giving money or time to an organization could include political parties or groups as well as charities, the report said." See the story in Chronicle of Philanthropy
Colleges See Prospective Donors Among New Students
August 26, 2010
August 26, 2010: "On a growing number of campuses, first-year students are hearing another message: Please give.... Not for tuition, but instead as a young donor. With alumni-giving rates at record lows and lagging state support of postsecondary education, public and private schools alike are focusing their efforts on building lifetime loyalty among still-impressionable students." See the story in the Boston Globe
Strategy Key as Arts Groups Launch Simultaneous Campaigns
August 21, 2010
From Indianapolis Business Journal, August 21, 2010: "Last year was not the first time the arts landed a smaller piece of the pie," said Kathleen Kavanagh, senior executive vice president at Grenzebach Glier and Associates in Chicago, which is consulting with the Indianapolis Museum of Art on its strategy...Kavanagh said her firm’s cultural clients aren’t scaling back their goals, but they recognize it may take longer to achieve them. “It’s been a time of very careful planning,” she said.
See the story in the Indianapolis Business Journal [subscription required]
