Big US Charities Report Tough Times In 2002

The big US charities report that 2002 was one of the toughest fundraising years in memory according to a new report.

For the first time in a dozen years, contributions to the USA’s largest charities declined in 2002, the result of continuing economic uncertainty among donors and heightened competition for money among charities, according to The Chronicle’s 12th annual Philanthropy 400 survey.

As a result, the report says many groups have altered their fund-raising approaches, and they are bracing for years of financial challenges.

Its says a number of charities have begun to focus on their long-term fund-raising prospects by adding staff members and sponsoring events to try to attract more major and planned gifts.

Other groups are stepping up their marketing efforts or working closely with corporate donors to bring in more money.

Donations in 2002 declined 1.2 percent, after adjusting for inflation, compared with an average annual gain of 12 percent during the previous five years.

Aggregate donations among the groups in this year’s survey totalled $US46.9-billion, down from $US47.5-billion last year.

The Philanthropy 400 ranks the nation’s largest Not for Profit groups by how much money they raise from private sources. The groups posted an aggregate decline of 0.4 percent in donations before calculating for inflation, which ran 1.58 percent in 2002.

Giving to the Philanthropy 400 charities accounted for approximately one-fifth of the $US241-billion contributed to charities nationwide last year, according to estimates compiled by Giving USA, an annual report on charitable giving published by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel Trust for Philanthropy.