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July 21, 2008

Confidence Among Fund Raisers Decreases, Survey Finds

Fund raisers are growing more worried that the economy is starting to drag giving down, according to the new Philanthropic Giving Index report released today by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Indiana University regularly conducts a study of 140 fund raisers from around the country to assess how fund raising is going now and what their expectations are for the future. Indiana researchers then come up with a score that resembles the consumer confidence index.

The most-recent score for the fund-raising index is 82.8, which is a decrease of 6 percent from what it was six months ago and 4.7 percent from year ago. That is not nearly as pessimistic as at it was at the lowest point in the history of the index. In the summer of 2003, fund raisers registered a score of 72.3. The highest score was a rating of 94.6 in December 1999, when the dot-com boom was fueling the economy.

The survey asks not just about overall fund raising, but how specific types of fund-raising techniques are working. With the exception of direct mail, fund raisers say that all types of appeals were doing less well in the past six months than they had expected when the year started.

Eugene R. Tempel, executive director of the center, said the findings should remind charities that it is important to “diversify their funding sources, create or strengthen major-gift programs, and find new ways to communicate the impact of their missions on those they serve.”

Registration is required to view the full report.

— Cassie Moore

Monday July 21, 2008 | Permalink

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