Charitable Donation Statistics

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University conducted a study on households with incomes greater than $200,000 or a net worth of $1 million or more. They found that the recession caused wealthy families to decrease their donations to charities 35% from 2007 to 2009.

Despite these declines, the amount donated to private foundations, donor-advised funds, and charitable trusts increased 21% from 2007 to 2009. The study found that the wealthy are becoming more focused in their donations, which benefited sectors such as environment/animal care, international giving, and the arts and harmed the health and education sectors.

See Paul Wilson, Charitable Giving Plummets in 2009, Producersweb.com, Nov. 9, 2010.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this to my attention.