Giving to human services 10

Giving to human services organizations reached an estimated $25.88 billion in 2008. This is a decline of 12. 7 percent (­ 15. 9 percent adjusted for inflation).

Donations to human services organizations are an estimated 9 percent of total giving for 2008.

Human services organizations include charities focused on courts and legal services; employment and vocational training; food and nutrition; long­term housing and temporary shelter; public safety and community disaster relief; recreation and sports; youth development; family and children’s services; emergency assistance for families; and independent living and self­sufficiency for women, seniors, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

 

Giving USA findings for giving to human services organizations, 2008 Giving USA estimates for giving to human services organizations for 2007 and 2008 are based on the historical relationship between giving to human services organizations and broader economic trends. Specifically, the estimate looks at changes in personal income, changes in wealth as mea­ sured by the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, and changes in giving in the recent past. 1 The giving data are from IRS Forms 990 analyzed by the National Center for Charitable Statistics. The 2008 data from IRS Forms 990 will be available in about 2010. Giving USA will revise its estimates then.

Trends in giving to human services In prior recession years, giving to human services organizations averaged an inflation­adjusted change of 0.7 percent from the prior year, although the range was from a drop of 9 percent (1980) to an increase of 14. 4 percent (1974). Giving to this subsector

increased (adjusted for inflation) in five of the eleven recession years between 1968 and 2006.2

Using a standardized measure of giving to human services organizations allows us to compare contributions to this subsector over time. One standard measure is to estimate giving per household. To do this, the sum of contributions from all sources (not just households) is divided by the number of households in the country. Table 1 shows the results for giving to the human services subsector since 1988. IRS Forms 990 are used as the basis of estimation of giving to charitable subsectors.

Philanthropic Giving Index “present situation” indicator drops 22 percent for human services organizations from one year earlier In December 2008, the Philanthropic Giving Index (PGI), which measures the fundraising confidence of nonprofit fundraisers and is conducted by the Center on Philanthropy, reported a “present situation” index of 61. 9 (on