Charitable Giving Increases in 2011, but Still Behind Pre-Recession Giving

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the charities that fundraise from predominantly private sources anticipate a median increase of 4.7 percent—namely, that half of the surveyed charities anticipate more and the other half anticipates less.  It is an increase of 1.2 percent over last year's gains.  Nevertheless, charities are still not fundraising at their pre-recession levels.  Compared to 2007 figures (adjusted for inflation), the surveyed charities are still 8 percent below pre-recession fundraising amounts.

Two charities in the top 10 defied the trend—The Salvation Army (No. 2) experienced 5.1 percent growth in giving; the American Red Cross took in nearly 64 percent more, attributable primarily to Haiti-related donations..

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