Economic Downfall and Its Effect on Charities

According to Stephanie Strom, Weakness in Economy Isn’t Hurting Charities, NYTimes.com, March 14, 2008:

Despite the economic downturn and fears of recession, major charities say their fund-raising has not fallen off.***

In fact, some 64 percent of the organizations that have responded so far to the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ annual survey on fund-raising have reported bringing in more money in 2007 than the year before.***

Revenue at the March of Dimes rose 4.5 percent in 2007 on an unaudited basis, said Carol Portale, the organization’s senior vice president for customer relationship management and direct response.***

Darell Hammond, chief executive of KaBOOM!, a nonprofit group that builds and maintains playgrounds, said he and his senior management team were keeping a close eye on revenue to see what effect, if any, the organization would feel from economic weakness. The 12-year-old group has long been a favorite of corporate donors, and declines in corporate donations tend to be steeper during hard times than do reductions in gifts from other sources.***