Philanthropy 400 Reflects Generational Shift in American Giving

AmeriCares/AmeriCares India

AmeriCares Foundation (No. 4 on the latest Philanthropy 400) achieved the fastest growth in donations of any charity over the past two decades, largely due to noncash gifts.

By Ben Gose

The Shriners Hospitals for Children raised $342-million in 2009, nearly twice as much as in 1991, the first year The Chronicle published the Philanthropy 400, its annual ranking of charities that receive the most private support.

But the Tampa, Fla., charity still plummeted in the Philanthropy 400, from 15th in 1991 to 40th this year, as organizations like AmeriCares Foundation, which primarily receive product donations surged into the top 20. The Stamford, Conn., charity