Giving by rich Americans fell during recession-study | Reuters

Giving by rich Americans fell during recession-study | Reuters: "Wealthy Americans donated average $54,016 in 2009

* Only 2.5 percent made donations of more than $500,000

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Charitable giving by wealthy Americans dropped by more than a third between 2007 and 2009 as the worst U.S. recession in decades put pressure on the nonprofit sector, according to a study released on Tuesday.

While almost all rich Americans -- more than 98 percent -- donated to nonprofit groups last year, the average amount fell to $54,016 in 2009 from $83,034 in 2007 and $91,928 in 2005, the third biennial Bank of America Merrill Lynch study found."

Study Questions Efficiency of Charity Business Activities - Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Study Questions Efficiency of Charity Business Activities - Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Study Questions Efficiency of Charity Business Activities

By Nicole Wallace

As nonprofit organizations earn more unrelated business income—through such activities as merchandise sales or renting their donor lists—the proportion of their budgets that they spend on programs goes down, according to a new report.

The study analyzed 700 informational tax returns filed by 150 social-service organizations in Manhattan for the years 2000 to 2005. It was conducted by Rebecca Tekula, executive director of the Helene and Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Pace University, in New York."