4 big giving predictions for 2020

Published

2020 is poised to be a big year in philanthropy. The previous decade set the stage of having major gifts by younger philanthropist, an increase in philanthropic trade organizations, a focus on impact investing and greater transparency through measurement guidelines like the Sustainable Development Goals. With all of that now in place, here are my four big giving predictions for 2020.

Legacy making donations with increased transparency. The National Center for Family Philanthropy https://www.ncfp.org/ published their second benchmark report and the results align with what we are seeing here at Blackbaud. With over 44,000 family managed family foundations and an 18% increase in foundation giving (according to the 2019 Giving USA report), this next year is positioned to see a continuation of big donations for big impact. Universities will lead the way in securing the largest donations, however as the great wealth transfer starts to take effect family managed foundations will leave their mark.
Giving with a goal. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are impacting not only the way donors give, but also how foundations and nonprofits are finding each other. Publicly announcing which goals nonprofits and foundations support make it easier for mission fit matches to happen. According to SDG Funders (a project by Candid https://sdgfunders.org/sdgs/) foundation giving supported the global goals of Quality Education and Good Health with the highest dollar amounts. With both foundations and donor advised funds like Fidelity Charitable topping the list of largest donors with over $161billion in cumulative gifts, these numbers are set to grow exponentially as the DAF giving trend continues.
DAF giving. One of the most popular ways to give is through donor advised funds. I reached out to Fidelity Charitable to learn more about this. Their giving this year surpassed the Gates Foundation for the first time since 2015. ”Donor-advised funds are an excellent way to maximize your philanthropic impact,” said Amy Pirozzolo, Head of Donor Engagement at Fidelity Charitable, the nation’s largest grantmaker. “We consistently see our millennial donors looking to engage more deeply with the charities they support. The donor-advised fund model allows them to easily track their granting as they seek to solve some of the world’s more pressing problems.”
Multi-Year donations. The effects on philanthropy of the Tax and Jobs Act of 2017 were felt in the past two years as itemized philanthropic donations dropped according to Charity Navigator and the 2019 Giving USA report (https://blog.charitynavigator.org/2019/12/how-tax-law-is-affecting-your-giving.html). The popularity of multi-year donations rose as having a pre-set gift amount enables better tax planning and for foundations and individuals to support the charities they care about most. Multi-year donations are a win-win for the donor and non-profit as they set giving expectations and resource allocation amounts well in advance for nonprofits to prepare for alternative future funding.

What do all 4 of these trends have in common? They are made possible through technology and the overarching desire for the donors, and the nonprofits, to fully understand the impact of the work they are doing. As impact reporting becomes more automated, we look forward to seeing these trends grow into best practices that benefit the nonprofit sector throughout the decade.

News ARCHIVED | Blackbaud Grantmaking™ Tips and Tricks 01/10/2020 10:03am EST

Added by Alexis Fish

Check back soon!