Comments on: How Much Did Americans Really Give in 2008?

By: Sean Stannard-Stockton

Sean Stannard-Stockton — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:34:47 +0000

Stargazer Foundation, I read your paper. I understand what you are suggesting, but why do you say that giving warrants away doesn’t cost the company? It dilutes the equity base. If my company is worth something and I give you part of it, that certainly does cost me something. Plus, if the company is getting a tax deduction, you can bet the IRS thinks they are giving away something of value.

By: The Stargazer Founda

The Stargazer Founda — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:21:25 +0000

There is a simple way to produce billions of dollars of long-term funding for social causes. There is a way to harness the power of Capitalism for the Common Good that avoids government spending, taxes, stimuli, or bailouts. Companies can grant Social Bonuses by donating warrants to charity – something that doesn’t cost them anything to give – and get a deferred tax deduction for the value of the gift. To learn more go to: http://www.Stargazer.org/causes.

By: Sean Stannard-Stockton

Sean Stannard-Stockton — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:37:30 +0000

Steve, you’re right. GDP was down big in the first quarter. How the economy recovers (or doesn’t) over the course of the year will dramatically affect charitable giving.

Adam,
It probably did to some extent, but if you look back at the historical data, there are lots of events that create “noise” in the data. I don’t think the presidential election impact likely materially changes the general view of the numbers.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:12:36 +0000

I can’t help but also think that the Presidential Election of 2008 was a factor.

Might some political donors have considered political donations as a substitute for their regular charitable donation?

By: Steve Katz

Steve Katz — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:28:59 +0000

I think the jury’s out for another year to know what we’re dealing with: we’re talking about one quarter of downturn. Let’s see how it looks after 4 quarters.

By: Steve MacLaughlin

Steve MacLaughlin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:10:26 +0000

I agree with your perspective on this. It could have been much worse and there are a lot of variables at play here.

Blackbaud also ran some estimates on total online giving and the growth rate was 44% year-over-year, which is very positive.

http://forums.blackbaud.com/blogs/connections/archive/2009/06/10/giving-usa-report-for-2008-and-online-fundraising-estimates.aspx

2009 is more likely to be a much more telling year than 2008.

By: Sean Stannard-Stockton

Sean Stannard-Stockton — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:38:25 +0000

Thanks Dave. The big story here is that the economy is really bad. But everyone knows that. Philanthropy seems to be acting like it always does.

By: Dave Tinker

Dave Tinker — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:50:26 +0000

An interesting point from a session I attended this morning on the Giving USA data (session was led by Patrick Rooney of my alma mater, the Center on Philanthropy at IU), is that the total giving as a % GDP is in the range of 1.7% to 2.3% for all years they’ve studied giving. This is essentially a flat line, even during the oil embargo years and during the other smaller recession years.

Another point to ponder from the session was the fact the growth in the number of charities in the US has outpaced the growth of population and the growth in philanthropic giving.