Bonterra reposted this
Giving USA Foundation released their annual report on the state of philanthropy, and while there were some bright spots, the overall trendline of the last few years shows few signs of abating. Overall giving to charities came in at $557B in 2023, up 1.9% (though, in real dollars, a decline of 2.1% given the impacts of inflation). Gifts from individuals continued to lag other categories, reinforcing a recent report by the Fundraising Effectiveness Project which noted that 80% of the decline in donor participation can be attributed to the loss of the small donors who gave $500 or less. Increases in giving from corporations and bequests powered much of the nominal growth. Large donors play an increasingly important role, but ultimately electrifying broad participation is key to accelerate giving growth. Bonterra will be sharing some exciting announcements shortly about how we are using insights from our Cybergrants giving and volunteerism platform and those from our EveryAction, Network For Good, and Social Solutions nonprofit platforms to more easily match donors with doers. Solving this matching problem is at the center of our vision to double philanthropic activity over the next decade.
Thank you Bonterra for the extraordinary work you do.
It's disappointing to see a decline in real dollars. Better matching will help address some of this and increase efficiency. What other negative drivers are out there? Econ uncertainty? Tighter discretionary budgets?
I love it Scott that you are leading by the data. This is encouraging from the same report last year and as a testament of leveraging the technology that will help small and large nonprofits alike to best meet their goals.
Love seeing efforts to boost philanthropy! Exciting times ahead with Bonterra's new initiatives! Efficiently matching donors with causes is a game-changer. How do you think we can all contribute to doubling philanthropic impact? Let's discuss!