The Gordon Loux Company research shows significant trends occurring in philanthropy today.

• Greater local giving - less global
• Greater personal involvement in the charities that donors support
• Greater accountability demanded
• Greater expectations of strategic alliances, networking, and cooperation
• Greater giving to social issues
• Greater giving to start-up initiatives
• Greater giving to causes rather than organizations
• Greater changes in tax laws and government regulations
• Greater wealth in younger hands
• Greater influence by mega churches
• Greater sophistication of donors - movement toward evaluations
• Greater reliance upon major donors to fund charities
• Greater disenchantment with present giving
• Greater percentage of giving to fewer organizations
• Greater expectations of donors that strategic planning is done by charities
  

During 1999 charitable giving by individuals reached new heights by growing at a rate of 7.2% or $16 billion to $144 billion. According to George J. Ruotolo Jr., chairman of the AAFRC Trust, the growth was attributed to the dramatic increase in prosperity enjoyed by many Americans.

"When wealth increases, people are more comfortable using income to make charitable contributions," Ruotolo says. Charitable giving, in both awareness and participation, has also reached a level that it has not experienced since 1971, shortly before the oil crises. During 1999, giving amounted to 2.1 percent of the gross domestic product, up from 1.7 percent in 1995.

Giving by foundations also reached record levels last year. For the 5th straight year, foundations experienced double-digit increases, up 18 percent to over $27 billion. From 1995 to 1999, foundation assets nearly doubled, to almost $450 billion from approximately $227 billion.

According to Sara Englehart of the Foundation Center, "Traditionally, when foundations didn't have enough money to have a major impact on an issue, they tried to influence social policy. Now people have been able to think bigger, and they tend to pick things where they can make a big difference."

With an individual's or trustee's increased awareness of what resources are available to give, we believe that these trends can have a positive impact the direction of philanthropy in general.

The key word in all of these trends - greater. The key driver in philanthropy - to give to something greater than ourselves.

Where do you fit in these trends? How will these trends affect your current giving?

It's an exciting time to be participating in the philanthropic arena. If you're currently just a spectator, it's time to get involved. Discover your passions and begin your philanthropic Journey to Significance™.

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