Each month Independent Sector collects research with broad sector relevance to share with you. November’s research contains important insights into the impacts of COVID-19 on charitable giving and grantmaking.
BBB Wise Giving Alliance — 2020 Donor Trust Survey: The Pandemic and a Three-Year Retrospective
2020 marks BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s third year of reporting on donor attitudes and behavioral intentions related to trust and giving. This year’s publication features surveys conducted at the end of August 2020 (with more than 1,000 adults in the United States) and in December 2019 (with more than 2,100 adults in the United States and 1,000 adults in Canada). Noteworthy trends observed since December 2017 include: (1) a significant decline in the portion of donors relying on financial ratios as a signal of trust; (2) an erosion of public reliance on trust before giving; and (3) the continued importance of donor segmentation in reaching a diverse set of donors.
- More on the study – 2020 Donor Trust Survey: The Pandemic and a Three-Year Retrospective
University of Maryland, Do Good Institute — Community in Crisis: A Look at Charitable Activity and Civic Engagement in Times of Crises
This report reveals that charitable behaviors in America tend to surge and then dramatically decrease following a crisis. It offers insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic may change civic life in America. For the past several months, the world has struggled with the economic, social, and financial impacts of COVID-19, with the nonprofit sector being hit especially hard. This new analysis aimed to better understand how the pandemic might influence the way people give their time and dollars to charitable efforts, given their response to recent natural and economic disasters.
- More on the study – Community in Crisis: A Look at Charitable Activity and Civic Engagement in Times of Crises
Council on Foundations, Communfund — Study Of Investment Of Endowments For Private And Community Foundations (CCSF) Report
The CCSF report is the field’s most comprehensive and authoritative study on investment and governance policies and practices. The 2019 CCSF studies 265 private and community foundations that represent $104.7 billion in assets.
- More on the study – Study Of Investment Of Endowments For Private And Community Foundations (CCSF) Report
The Chronicle of Philanthropy — How Big Charities Are Faring in Their Fundraising Amid COVID-19
To better understand how the nation’s biggest charities have been affected by the health and economic crisis, The Chronicle of Philanthropy contacted 370 of the largest nonprofits nationwide to request data about their fundraising performance this year compared with the same periods in 2019. 116 groups provided full or partial responses to their inquiries. Of those, 107 groups representing roughly 10 percent of all charitable giving nationwide before the pandemic provided data on their fundraising in the first half of the year.
- More on the study – How Big Charities Are Faring in Their Fundraising Amid Covid
Center for Policing Equity — COVID-19 Modeling Project
The Center for Policing Equity sought to simulate COVID-19 spread in a large, synthetic U.S. city, focusing on contributions of three domains in driving spread of COVID-19 and related racial disparities: (a) low-wage, essential work; (b) police-public contact; and (c) jail and prison churn, specifically, the movement of people from local jails and state prisons to their home communities. Their focus is on community spread.
- More on the study – COVID-19 Modeling Project
Add Your Voice
The research summaries above are by no means an exhaustive list of the newest information out there to help us better understand the nonprofit landscape. Did we miss a report you think we should know about and share? Let us know by leaving a comment!
