Here's another piece of this puzzle. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, in its September 15, 2005 edition, ran a special report on "How Charitable Giving Fared After National Crises." In this article, the report said, "Political turmoil, military confrontations, and economic turbulence can all affect what types of charities Americans support – but they generally do not cause a drop in the total amount donated to charity according to a study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University for the Giving USA Foundation."
In another article some years ago, and I'm still trying to locate my source for this, but I think it was either Robert F. Sharpe Co., in their Give and Take publication, or the National Conference on Planned Giving, that compared all the 20th century recessions and depressions and the giving patterns that followed those economic downturns. In this I distinctly remember the trend in something like 12 of 15 instances was that giving increased significantly. If any of you happen to remember the source for this, I'd appreciate your assistance.
But the main point is that when times get tough the tough have generally increased giving. So, if you’re a director of development or a nonprofit executive director, and you're melancholy about being unable to raise funds in a down economy, it's time to get up and get moving; get those creative juices going, and get back to figuring out how to make that case for support really ZING the hearts and minds of donors and prospects.
More tomorrow.....
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