INDIANAPOLIS –Nonprofit professionals reported the lowest overall level of confidence in the fundraising climate
for U.S. charities in over a decade, according to the latest Philanthropic Giving Index (PGI) report released
today by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
The PGI, similar to a Consumer Confidence Index for charitable giving, is now 64.8, a 21.7 percent decrease from
just six months ago and a 27 percent decrease since December of 2007. In the 10 years since the study began in
1998, the overall PGI has ranged from a previous low of 72.3 in summer 2003 to a high of 94.6 in December 1999.
"This is a hard year for fundraisers at many organizations across the nonprofit spectrum. These results
reflect that the U.S. economy is in recession," said Patrick Rooney, interim executive director of the Center on
Philanthropy. "Our research for Giving USA Foundation shows that total giving generally declines by about 2.7
percent annually during longer recessions. While we don't yet know what will happen to total giving in 2008, the
PGI is a strong indicator of the difficult challenges fundraisers are clearly concerned with as 2008 comes to a
close."
The PGI report includes three indexes on a scale from 0 to 100, based on a semiannual national survey of nonprofit
fundraising professionals. The Present Situation Index (PSI) gauges the current giving environment. The Expectations
Index (EI) assesses the climate for the next six months, and the overall PGI is an average of the current and future
indexes. Higher scores indicate more positive or optimistic attitudes about the climate for fundraising.
In the latest survey, all three of the main indexes fell dramatically from their previous levels. In addition to
the PGI's historic drop, the PSI fell to 63.6, its lowest level since the summer of 2003. The PSI is nearly 28
percent lower than one year ago. The EI is 66.1, a 21.2 percent decrease from six months ago and more than 26
percent lower than last year at this time.
"The total giving picture is very complex. More than 93 percent of fundraisers said the economy is having
a negative impact on fundraising, including 28.5 percent who reported a very negative impact," said Una Osili, interim
director of research at the Center on Philanthropy. "However, just over 21 percent of those surveyed expect the
economic impact to be positive six months from now. We expect that different types and sizes of organizations will
be affected in different ways."
In particular, human services and PEAI (public benefit, environment/animals, and international) organizations are
reporting a tough fundraising climate. Consultants and development officers working in health, while still reporting
a difficult fundraising climate, had the highest PGI of any type of organization.
"While more organizations are reporting difficulty, some donors and charities seem to be holding their
own," said Timothy L. Seiler, director of The Fund Raising School and public service at the Center on Philanthropy.
"Notably, two thirds of fundraisers reported that donors who had previously given $1000 or more gave the same amount
or increased their giving to the organization in the past year."
About 44 percent of fundraisers reported that giving by donors who had previously given less than $1,000 remained
the same over the past year, while just under 30 percent reported they gave more in the past year. In addition, over
two thirds of fundraisers, 69.3 percent, reported the timing of scheduled pledge payments has remained the same this
past year, while 65.2 percent said the payment of pledges in the full amount has remained the same.
Current economic conditions may be affecting the reported success of different fundraising techniques. For two
consecutive periods, fewer fundraisers reported success with major gifts. Statistically significantly fewer
fundraisers cited success with major gifts than they anticipated just six months ago. Nearly 71.3 percent of
fundraisers reported success, the lowest measure since 2003. On the other hand, fundraisers are reporting more
success with planned giving (72.9 percent) than they did just six months ago (67.6 percent).
More than 40 percent of fundraisers reported that the extension of the IRA charitable rollover provision, which
allows individuals who are at least 70 ½ years of age to make charitable gifts from their individual retirement
accounts without a tax penalty, has increased fundraising to their organization in 2008.
The full PGI report, including results by organization size, location of donor support and subsector (
e.g., arts, environment, etc.), is available to Premium Services members of the Center's Web site at
.or may be purchased at
http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/Products/products_research.aspx..
Journalists may obtain the full report from Josh Sprunger at (317) 278-8932,
or Adriene Davis, (317)278-8972,
PGI survey participants are chosen to represent a cross-section of nonprofits nationwide in terms of geographic
region, annual revenue size and type of organization. The survey was mailed to 405 nonprofit development executives
and fundraising consultants. The overall response rate was 39.8 percent. The survey was sponsored by the Association
for Healthcare Philanthropy. Survey administration and coding of data was conducted by the Center for Survey Research
at Indiana University.
About the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University is a leading academic center dedicated
to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice worldwide
through research, teaching, public service and public affairs programs in philanthropy,
fundraising, and management of nonprofit organizations. A part of the Indiana University
School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, the Center operates program on the IUPUI and IU
Bloomington campuses.
