By C. Todd Sherman, for USA TODAY
Eight Days of Hope volunteers construct a home on Nov. 4 on the site of one destroyed by a tornado in the town of Smithville, Miss. Charitable giving could take years to return to pre-recession levels, non-profit leaders say.
Giving totaled $291 billion in 2010, according to the 2011 annual report by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. That’s up 3.8% from 2009 and follows two consecutive years of declines.
This year shows little change. Charity Navigator, a Glen Rock, N.J., organization that evaluates non-profits, anticipates donations will be flat during the holiday season. About 35% of non-profit contributions come from state, federal and local government grants and contracts, and those gifts are declining, CEO Ken Berger says. Only 15% is from individuals. Click here for full article.
