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Individuals again the top givers to charity — by far

Individuals are again by far the top category of givers in the U.S. — giving more than $254 billion (or 87%) of the 2010 total — as reported in Giving USA 2011 from the Giving USA Foundation.

Here’s the breakdown:

Individuals (direct) gave $211.77 billion Individuals (bequests) gave $22.83 billion Individuals (through family foundations) [...]

At-risk nonprofits get last chance from IRS

Small nonprofit organizations at risk of losing their tax-exempt status because they failed to file required returns can preserve their status by filing returns by Oct. 15, 2010, under a one-time relief program announced by Internal Revenue Service.

Is your favorite nonprofit one of them? The IRS has made the list available to the [...]

U.S. giving drops again, individuals still top givers

GivingUSA2010Giving declined in 2009 for the second consecutive year, according to Giving USA Foundation’s just published 2010 annual report on giving in the U.S.

Nonprofits to Lose Tax Exemptions May 15

Is your charity or other nonprofit about to lose its tax-exemption? If it hasn’t been keeping up on filing its annual returns with the IRS, its tax-exemption is in jeopardy. Being “tax-exempt” basically means that a nonprofit doesn’t pay federal income taxes on income related to its core purpose.

The New York Times yesterday [...]

Growth in number of public charities raises concerns

An article in today’s issue of The New York Times reports on the dramatic growth in the number of public charities (up 60% in the last decade), and raises concerns about the ability of the IRS and state agencies to keep track, and about the revenue cost to the Treasury.

It’s a good reminder to me that, just because an organization has an IRS 501(c)(3) [public charity] determination, doesn’t mean that you should donate to it. Investigate before you donate. Continue reading “Growth in number of public charities raises concerns”

The rich give and grow richer (and happier)

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that “Wealthy people who give away 10 percent or more of their income to charity tend to build a higher net worth — and to be happier — than other wealthy individuals who give less” — quoting Thomas J. Stanley in his new book, Stop Acting Rich … and [...]

Will foundation giving drop even farther in 2010?

Philanthropy commentator Sean Stannard-Stockton predicts that (given the current levels of stock market valuations) foundation giving will show an even greater drop in 2010 (23%) than the estimated 17% drop for 2009. If Sean is right, individual and family giving (always the largest source of charitable funding) will be even more important than ever [...]

Hollywood Directing Its Philanthropy Out of Town

A report in The New York Times* reports a growing tendency for players in the Los Angeles entertainment industry to direct their giving to national and international causes, far beyond the local area. The report states

The reasons vary: Hollywood companies, once local, are now part of multinational corporations; the recession has taken a [...]

Philanthropy outlook good, but not for faith-based (Reuters survey)

According to a Reuters survey of high net worth givers, philanthropy does not seem to have been hit by the global economic downturn. Contrary to some initial fears after the stock market plunge last year, giving by the rich to charitable causes seems to be rising as younger donors get more active in the [...]

Giving Downturn in 2008 Sets Record

On June 10, 2009, Giving USA Foundation released the latest Giving USA, its annual report on charitable giving in the U.S.

Here’s the bad news: Charitable giving in the U.S. for 2008 dropped 2 percent from 2007 levels. That’s a 5.7% drop when you factor in inflation, and a record downturn for the 50+ [...]