Donor-Advised Fund Numbers Still Obscure Who’s Giving and How Much
Publishers of donor-advised fund data are including hundreds of thousands of workplace giving accounts in their averages. That skews the picture.
New report shows philanthropy mirrors our growing inequality. As wealth concentrates in fewer hands, so does philanthropic giving and power, posing risks to both our independent sector and democracy.
Unprecedented levels of charitable giving in recent years mask a troubling trend. The new report from the Institute for Policy Studies, Gilded Giving: Top-Heavy Philanthropy in an Age of Extreme Inequality, shows that charities are increasingly relying on larger and larger donations from smaller numbers of high-income, high-wealth donors.
Meanwhile, charities are receiving shrinking amounts of revenue from the vast population of donors at lower and middle-income levels. This trend mirrors the increasing concentration of wealth in our larger society.
These dynamics have significant implications for the practice of fundraising, the role of the independent nonprofit sector, and the health of our larger democratic civil society. The increasing power of a small number of donors also increases the potential for mission distortion.
This new Institute for Policy Studies report tracks significant changes in philanthropic giving in recent years, traces the implications of these changes, and offers an array of short- and long-term solutions.
Key findings: