May 27, 2010; Source: Reuters | If the predictions of a study released on Thursday hold, charitable giving is expected to make a healthy rebound in 2010, but an even bigger payday will come next year. Reuters reports that The Center of Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College is predicting charitable giving will hit between $222 billion and $227 billion for the year, up from $217 billion a year earlier.
“[The year] 2010 may just turn out to be the beginning of good news for fundraisers and charities. But it may not be until 2011 that we see the amount of individual giving returning to its pre-recession 2007 purchasing power,” said Paul Schervish, the center’s director. Charitable giving has been on a decline from since 2008, when it fell about 6 percent from the previous year.
While the trend seems to be ticking upward, John Havens, a senior research associate at the center, sounded a note of caution. He said that “growth may not continue the rest of the year if the fiscal crisis in Europe brings a second recessionary dip to the United States.”—Bruce Trachtenberg
