Growth in Charitable Giving Slowing So Far in 2014 But Majority of Charities Still Raising More Halfway Through the Year

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fifty-two percent of charities raised more funds as of mid-2014 than they did as of mid-2013, according to the Nonprofit Research Collaborative's (NRC) mid-year fundraising survey. That figure represents a slowdown in giving from last year, when that mid-year figure was 58 percent, but still stronger than in 2012 when it was 46 percent.

"The mid-year results have averaged 9 percentage points lower than end-of-year findings since the NRC began collecting data in 2010," says Nancy Raybin of Giving USA Foundation, which is one of the NRC partners. "We see strong results so far for 2014 and anticipate a solid year-end with many success stories."

The NRC surveys hundreds of organizations and asks about specific fundraising methods. General responses show a slight decrease in the rate of growth in giving and fundraising across many different organizations and techniques, but nothing to indicate a significant concern, according to Raybin.

Other key findings for mid-2014 include:

• Education and Arts organizations have found the most success so far in 2014, which 58 percent of responding organizations in each of these groups seeing an increase in funds raised.
• The four regions of the United States saw relatively similar increases in funds raised.
• Among Canadian respondents, roughly the same share (54%) reported growth in funds raised in early 2014 as did U.S. charities.
• As of mid-2014, 48 percent of Human Services charities in the study said they had raised more. This is lower than the 60 percent of Human Services charities reporting growth in funds raised as of mid-2013.

"Often, the organizations in this study that said they were raising more credited gifts from individuals, instead of foundation grants or business support," says Dirk Rinker of research firm Campbell Rinker, which is also a member of the NRC. "This shows how vital it is that charities continue to engage and retain donors across a variety of giving sources and giving levels toward solid fundraising gains. There is a lot of good new in this report despite the slight slowing of growth. Organizations that continue to invest in fundraising are likely going to be the success stories."

About the Survey
The Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC) conducts surveys two times a year. Prior reports from the NRC are available at www.NPResearch.org and the Summer 2014 report will be online at that site effective October 6, 2014.

This survey was conducted online in July and August 2014 about fundraising results in the first six months of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. The 1,180 non-duplicated respondents form a convenience sample. There is no margin of error, as it is not a random sample of the population studied. Reported results are statistically significant using chi-square analysis.

About the Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC)
NRC members have direct experience collecting information from nonprofits concerning charitable receipts, fundraising practices, and/or grantmaking activities. NRC partners are the Association of Fundraising Professionals; Association of Philanthropic Counsel; CFRE International; Campbell Rinker; Giving USA Foundation; Partnership for Philanthropic Planning; and National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute.

This wave of the NRC survey received additional support from the Science of Philanthropy Initiative.

Contact: Melissa Brown
530-690-5746
[email protected]

SOURCE Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC)