June is Second Most Popular Month for Charitable Giving

June is Second Most Popular Month for Charitable Giving

by | Jun 15, 2020 | Events, Features, News, Upcoming Events

Portland, OR.  While December continues to be the largest month for charitable giving, 2018 gave way to the biggest shift in distribution across other months. In 2017, approximately 18.2% of giving took place in December and this shifted to 17% in 2018, according to a report by Blackbaud. June has continued to be the second-largest giving month of the year, which aligns with the end of the fiscal year for many nonprofit organizations. Meals on Wheels People, pictured above, like many nonprofits, continues to need support.

In 2018, overall charitable giving in the United States increased by 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Large organizations grew by 2.3%; medium organizations increased 2%; and small nonprofits experienced a decrease of 2.3% compared to the same time period in 2017. Since 2016, overall giving has grown 9% and giving to Foundations grew 5% over the same three year time period.

Online giving grew 1.2% in 2018 compared to 2017. Large organizations had a decrease of 0.5%; medium-sized organizations grew 3.7%; and small nonprofits grew 0.7% on a year-over-year basis. Since 2016, online giving has grown 17%, and average online gift amounts have continued to increase. The percentage of total fundraising that came from online giving once again reached another record high in 2018. Approximately 8.5% of overall fundraising revenue, excluding grants, was raised online. In 2018, 24% of online transactions were made using a mobile device.

This is the continuation of a growing trend we have measured over many years now. Arts and Culture organizations had the largest growth in both overall and online giving during 2018. Animal Welfare, International Affairs, Higher Education, and Public and Society Benefit organizations also experienced significant growth in overall giving compared to 2017. Public and Society Benefit, Healthcare, and Faith Communities also had growth in online giving in 2018. 2018 continued the longest sustained period of charitable giving growth since the last recession.

There are several key trends shaping charitable giving that are highlighted here. First, charitable giving in the United States is returning to normal levels following two years of significant growth. Second, online giving is entering a new phase where mobile and other digital channels continue to change how donors engage with nonprofit organizations. Finally, giving to Foundations and Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) continues to grow in response to supporter preferences and changes in incentives. A 36-month view of fundraising from the same organizations reveals a 9% growth in overall giving and a 17% increase in online giving. When we take a broader view, spikes in giving during 2017 gave way to more normal growth rates in 2018. There is a tendency to want to identify a single reason for shifts in giving, but that is not how the philanthropic ecosystem works.

The digital marketing firm for nonprofits, Blackbaud, released this finding in its 2018 Charitable Giving Report.

Meals on Wheels Washington County Harvest Breakfast Raises $37,000 to Feed Seniors

Meals on Wheels Washington County Harvest Breakfast Raises $37,000 to Feed Seniors

by | Oct 19, 2012 | Events, Features, Uncategorized | 1 comment

Washington County Fairgrounds, October 17th. Jackie Hampton and Tina Bodaghi of Western Family Foods and Laurie Reser of Reser’s Fine Foods were among the Meals on Wheels supporters who raised more than $37,000 in just one hour to provide hot meals to seniors in the Washington County area. It was the organization’s first annual Harvest Breakfast presented by Key Bank. (Photo credit, Julie Piper Finley)

Jason McCleskey, Vice President and Washington County Retail Leader for Key Bank

Jason McCleskey, Vice President and Washington County Retail Leader for Key Bank

The capacity crowd of business leaders and volunteers gathered in the Cloverleaf Building at the Washington County Fairgrounds to hear volunteers Laurie Reser, Reser’s Fine Foods, and Tina Bodaghi and Jackie Hampton, Western Family Foods, share their experiences of delivering Meals on Wheels to local seniors. All three are long-time volunteers for the organization.  The event received a broad base of support from the business community within Washington County and generated both much-needed funds as well as new volunteers.

Laurie Reser of Reser's Fine Foods

Laurie Reser of Reser’s Fine Foods

Key Bank was the event presenting sponsor. Other sponsors included: Frontier Communications, Regence BlueCross BlueShield, Liberty Northwest Insurance, Avamere, Providence St. Vincent Hospital, Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships and Western Family Foods.

About Meals on Wheels People: Since 1970 the Meals on Wheels People has provided a nutritional and social lifeline for seniors through 35 meal sites in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties and Meals on Wheels delivery to homebound seniors. With the help of nearly 10,000 volunteers, the nonprofit organization now serves 5,000 meals daily and 1.2 million meals each year. Visit: www.mealsonwheelspeople.org.