Director’s Messages for 2014
January: Trends for today and beyond—the value of data and demographics.
The August 15, 2013 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy had a pull-out section that focused on “Tomorrow’s Donors.” Among the many valuable articles was one discussing trends that will reshape the way nonprofits will raise money. Among these were:

Women are gaining economic power

White Americans will no longer be the majority
 Today’s young adults will push philanthropy to change

Baby boomers are reaching their prime giving years

Diversity among donors—identity-based philanthropy—will continue to grow in significance and numbers

Secularism is on the rise
1
Understanding these trends is highly important if fundraisers are to keep abreast of how their field is changing, and how they must adapt to these changes. Equally important is the need to apply knowledge supplied by surveys, research, statistics and other credible analyses of these trends.
For this reason, we will focus on giving statistics during the next several months, perhaps reacquainting you with some well-known sources and resources, and perhaps introducing you to new ones. The rest of our website will be dedicated to information that may be useful as you take into account the information provided in this column and how it relates to your professional performance. While it will be impossible to exhaust the possibilities of available information, we hope to pique your interest and provide you with additional resources as you request these.
Topics that will be addressed in this column, and substantiated with other resources our PSI’s website will include:
January: Introduction and an overview of Giving USA
February: Giving by Millennials
March: Religion and giving
April: Global giving and why many fundraisers are reaching beyond their borders
May: Giving in Canada
1 Adapted from “Tomorrow’s Donors: The race is on for charities to win support from a fast-moving America,” The
Chronicle of Philanthropy, August 15, 2013, Section B.

June: Healthcare philanthropic data
July: Young donors and their philanthropic differences
August: Gender differences in giving
September: Identity-based philanthropy—a brief overview
October: Effects of economic downturns—can we learn something from the past as we face the future?
November: The importance of transparency and trust
December: Why donors give—understanding motivations
Each of these columns will be quite short, providing the highlights of philanthropy and nonprofits, including how this affects all sub-sectors of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, from higher education to community services, from healthcare to secondary and elementary education, from sustainable support to project and campaign fundraising.
As a fitting introduction to this series of columns, a quick review of or introduction to Giving
USA serves as a foundation. Giving USA reports the landscape of charitable giving annually and has done so for the past nearly sixty years.
2 In 2012, the latest available figures, giving was up by 3.5% when compared to the previous year. The total of $316.23 billion reflects how
Americans support their nonprofit sector organizations. American individuals and households gave 3.9% more in 2012 than in 2011, indicating a mild optimism that the economy was improving, since generosity generally correlates with economic trends. More than two-thirds of
American households make charitable donations annually. Giving USA tracks this giving, along with that of corporations and foundations. The two most significant graphs are below, used by permission. Much more highly relevant information can be found in Giving USA Annual Report on Philanthropy , the 2013 edition which reports on 2012 research data. The report can be purchased at http://store.givingusareports.org/Giving-USA-2013-Report-Highlights-P98.aspx.
Also contact PSI with specific questions on Giving USA and other available data. For a brief summary, please click on the following link: (Mark, see attached)
2 Giving USA is an initiative of the Giving USA Foundation, established in 1985 by what is now The Giving
Institute. The annual report is researched and written at The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana
University.