What Do Board Members Need to Know About Giving Trends Today?
Giving USA is chock-full of the latest data that reports on how philanthropy fared in 2023. (Here’s a spoiler – despite the impact of inflation, Americans NEVER stop being generous!)
We’ve written about the top takeaways and answered your questions.
What Do Board Members Need to Know About Giving Trends Today?
Here’s the key information that your board members and stakeholders need to know.
We’ve pitched in with a helpful acronym to guide your board update: GIVE. The top takeaways from Giving USA 2024 can be summed up in four words:
- Giving
- Influence
- Values
- Economy
1. Giving: More People are Making Gifts of Stock, and from DAF’s and IRAs
People, and especially larger donors, are giving in different ways today. You could say that the shape that generosity takes is changing.
Board members should know that individuals have always been the major source of charitable contributions – far more than any other source.
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However, many of the traditional giving channels have changed in recent years:
- Foundations and donor-advised funds are becoming more significant sources of donations.
- Foundations are giving more, with over $100 billion in gifts for the second year in a row.
- Charitable bequests and giving via stock are becoming increasingly significant as Baby Boomers enter their peak giving years.
What To Know
Board members will be interested to know that gifts of appreciated stock from private foundations and Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) are trending up. They are growing rapidly these days as popular giving vehicles.
Their takeaway would be to help identify donors who may have assets to give, or who may have set up a personal Donor Advised Fund.
At a minimum, ensure your board members understand and can talk about these types of gifts. And remind them that your organization is ready and willing to work with donors who give from these sources.
? Learn Even More: 10 Fundraising Responsibilities of Every Board Member
2. Inspire: People Are Giving When They are Inspired
People are continuing to give when they are inspired. It’s an emotional thing. People give when they “feel” strongly about something.
Your board members can also have a huge influence on other donors – simply by sharing their own personal reasons for supporting your organization.
The research shows that peer-to-peer relationships and conversations among friends really do help inspire giving.
What To Know:
Ensure that board members know how to handle a conversation with a donor or potential donor:
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- Help them develop their own elevator speech to share their own enthusiasm for your organization’s work.
- Equip your board members with thoughtful questions to ask others about their giving.
- Encourage board members to share their own stories of giving, either in a one-on-one setting with a key prospect, at an event, or in promotional materials.
Board members may feel awkward when sharing their excitement about their favorite organizations. That’s not uncommon.
So, helping your leaders practice their messaging is a huge plus.
? Learn Even More: Give Board Members Something to Say – Help Them Become Personal Advocates for your Cause
3. Values: People Are Giving Based on Personal Values and Beliefs
Above all, donors are going to give where they feel a connection with their personal values. Where they have a personal history.
As we mentioned earlier, giving is an emotional act.
Where are they giving? What types of organizations are receiving more or less gifts?
- Giving USA found that giving to many traditional nonprofits, such as houses of worship, is declining.
- And education continues to see solid charitable support, largely thanks to major donors.
- Giving to health and medical causes continues to be somewhat stable.
What To Know
If your board members know how to ask the right questions, they can help open the hearts of your donors. All they have to do is ask donors “why do you support our organization?”
And, just watch out! They may open the floodgates to a donor’s personal values. And that includes the donor’s history, their deepest held beliefs and their true passions. That’s powerful stuff!
? Learn Even More: What is Your Donor’s Emotional Connection?
4. The Economy: Charitable Giving Follows the Economy
Remember the saying, “It’s the economy, stupid?” Actually, the economy has a huge impact on giving.
The most important factoid is this:
Charitable giving tends to follow the strength of the US stock market. However, it’s a lagging indicator, following behind the stock market by about a year.
- For 40 years, individual giving as a percentage of personal disposable income has consistently averaged 2%.
- Total giving reliably equals around 2% of GDP.
So, with the US stock market at record highs, we can expect a very positive economic environment that will encourage giving.
What To Know
- It’s helpful to understand that the economy totally impacts the results of Giving USA data.
- However, philanthropy always perseveres through economic ups and downs.
