The recent release of Giving USA 2017 brought some good news to the nonprofit sector and education organizations in particular. According to the report, total estimated charitable giving in the United States rose 2.7 percent between 2015 and 2016 to $390.05 billion. The report highlights that giving by individuals rose 3.9 percent to $281.86 billion and that giving by all three types of foundations rose 3.5 percent to $59.28 billion. Giving to education is estimated to have increased 3.6 percent to $59.77 billion, which represents 15 percent of total charitable giving (behind religion at 32 percent).
In a special section for members of the nonprofit community, the authors note that individual giving continues to be the primary source of philanthropic giving and “may be increasingly driven by high-net worth households as income inequality persists in the United States.” In addition, the authors point out that the “continued decline in donor retention rates was partially mitigated by growth in other areas, such as online giving and new donor acquisition, in 2016.” As possible reasons for donors not making return gifts, the authors cite the experience of fundraiser Joanne Fritz who explained “Oft-cited reasons by donors for not giving again include forgetting that they donated; not being reminded to give again; lack of, or irrelevant communication by the organization; or inappropriate asks.” The authors reinforce the point that “it is typically much easier (and cheaper) to retain a satisfied donor than to acquire one who has never given to your organization.” They also emphasize the importance of “great customer service, cultivating commitment and appropriately timed and personalized communications.”
Citing The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the top 400 public charities and private foundations, the authors note that Step Up for Students in Jacksonville, FL continues as the “top education-related charity” with $457.85 million in private support and that the Challenge School Foundation in Sandy, UT joined the list for the first time with $135.48 million. The authors also cite Grantmakers for Education’s latest Benchmarking report which reveals that equity continues to be a top issue of concern for education funders along with: teacher professional development; out of/after school programming; administrative leadership; and science, technology, engineering and math(STEM) programming.” It will be interesting to watch if and how after school programming remains a priority for GFE funders since it has taken hit in the 2018 federal budget negotiations.