Report from Indiana University researchers addresses need to ‘grow philanthropy’: IU News Room: Indiana University: The report, Growing Philanthropy in the United States, was released today (Oct. 28). It addresses the fact that philanthropic giving in the United States has remained static for decades, despite the best efforts of fundraising professionals and nonprofit organizations.

The UK Civil Society Almanac 2010: Workforce | Library | Research and policy | Skills - Third Sector: The report is based on the 'Work' chapter of the NCVO UK Civil Society Almanac 2010 and covers key trends and characteristics of the voluntary sector workforce, employment and volunteering.

New Study Says Charities Could Lose Up to $3.2-Billion From Obama Tax Change - Government & Politics Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: In another new study on President Obama’s proposal to limit the value of the charitable deduction, the Tax Policy Center has estimated that the change would depress giving from $1.7-billion to $3.2-billion a year.

That is less than the estimate of $2.9-billion to $5.6-billion offered in another study released this month.

Optimism growing in the sector, claims report: “There is a very real sense of optimism growing in the sector,” said Andrew Watt, president and CEO, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), who provided commentary in the report.

Citing a situation not many in the UK sector will share, Watt added: “Rising giving levels are what is driving the sense of optimism and, in turn, anticipated growth in staffing. Part of that optimism is the nature of our missions—NFPs work to create change and inspire the public. We tend to be optimists, but with a healthy dose of realism.”

Charitable Giving Index: Fundraising Growth Slows - MarketWatch: CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct 17, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blackbaud, Inc. BLKB 1.28% today released a fundraising trends report based on monthly findings from The Blackbaud Index and featuring commentary from Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) and American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF) on the newly released specialty index focused on healthcare organizations.

-- The report is available for download at www.blackbaud.com/blackbaudindex .

Teenage boys think working for a charity is boring - Third Sector: A survey by consultancy Magnified Learning finds that few would want to work in the third sector

A survey carried out in schools has found that nearly a third of boys aged 14 and 15 think the charity sector is the most boring to work in.

Manila Standard Today -- Philanthropy rising in Asia along with wealth, says HSBC study -- 2011/october/11: Asian philanthropists are giving more, and they are shifting to a structured and focused approach to charity, according to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, commissioned by HSBC Private Bank.

The report titled, Something’s gotta give: The state of philanthropy in Asia, was based on various published research and in-depth interviews with academics, consultants and prominent philanthropists from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Nonprofits show optimism despite serious concerns, United Way survey finds | Hartford Business: Even as the economy continues its slow recovery, many Hartford-area non-profit organizations have a renewed sense of optimism, according to the United Way’s eighth annual Non-Profit Pulse Survey.

Foundations Step In to Help Grantees Weather State Budget Cuts, Report Finds | PND | Foundation Center: Based on responses from seventy-five members of the Grantmaker Leadership Panel — more than two hundred CEOs at leading U.S. private and public foundations — the study, Foundation Leaders Address the State Budget Crises (4 pages, PDF), found that a quarter of the funders reported having grantees that were forced to suspend operations. To remedy the situation, about half the funders surveyed have provided assistance to affected nonprofits, while two-thirds expect to increase funding for organizations that serve vulnerable populations in general.

Donors Hike Support for Canadian Hospitals to More than $1.2 Billion, But Giving is Still Short of Pre-recession Level: WASHINGTON, D.C., (September 19, 2011) – Donors to Canada’s health care institutions increased contributions by $80 million last year, but the much needed financial booster shot remained far below amounts raised before the recession hit. While charitable cash and pledges in FY2010 totaled $1.204 billion, 7.1 percent more than in FY2009, they were $133 million less than the total of funds raised in FY2007.

Charity staff turnover falls, survey finds - Third Sector: Staff turnover in charities fell from 20 per cent last year to 16 per cent this year, according to a new human resources study.

Seventy-three charities, all with more than 50 employees, took part in the annual People Count Third Sector study, carried out by the management and HR consultancy Agenda Consulting. It analysed staff data from March 2010 to March 2011.

Half of the public cannot name a local charity, survey finds - Third Sector: Nearly two-thirds of respondents to Attitudes to Giving survey said their giving had stayed at the same level over the past two years

Almost half of respondents to a recent survey on giving were unable to name a local charity in their area.

Attitudes to Giving, a survey by the market research company ActionPoint Marketing Solutions, canvassed the views of 420 people from different age groups, income levels and ethnicities in spring this year.

Indiana nonprofit employment made gains despite recession: IU News Room: Indiana University

Indiana nonprofit employment made gains despite recession: IU News Room: Indiana University: "BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Buoyed by gains in the health services and education sectors, employment and wages paid by Indiana nonprofit organizations increased steadily in recent years, according to a new report by Indiana University researchers."

TSRC - Mapping the big society

TSRC - Mapping the big society: "Mapping the Big Society

Implicit in the idea of the 'big society' is the view that communities will be the first port of call in responding to social needs. But there are concerns that this will be much easier in some communities than others. Part of the role of TSRC is to assemble evidence on the distribution, resources and capacities of the third sector. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how our quantitative work contributes to a better understanding of the sector's contribution, and provide insights into the baseline from which “Big Society” policies have commenced."

Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net: Philanthropy's Role - Brookings Institution

Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net: Philanthropy's Role - Brookings Institution: "Although federal, state, and local governments are often the primary funders of nonprofits, governments do not often take the lead in creating new organizational capacities or in coordinating capacity across political jurisdictions. In many regions, the local philanthropic community has become aware of these gaps in services for the poor and has sought to assist the nonprofit community in building capacity and expanding activities. Local foundations are experimenting with various strategies to address the growing dispersion of poverty."

Fall in fundraising income continues, says Charity Market Monitor - Third Sector: "Professor Cathy Pharoah, author of the report

Cancer Research UK stays top of the list, while animal welfare and armed forces charities buck the trend

The UK’s 500 largest fundraising charities suffered a �70m real-terms fall in fundraising income to about �6.06bn in 2009/10, according to research published today."

Meyer Foundation - Meyer Foundation

Meyer Foundation - Meyer Foundation: "Two-thirds of the 3,000 nonprofit executive directors surveyed plan to leave their jobs within five years. Executives express frustration with nonprofit funding models, amplified by the recession, but remain resolved and engaged.

Washington, DC—Daring to Lead 2011, a new national study of nonprofit executive directors conducted in the aftermath of the deepest economic recession in decades, reports that a significant number of executives plan to leave their jobs within the next five years, citing frustration with their organizations’ shaky finances, under-performing boards of directors, and the difficulty of maintaining healthy work-life balance in their demanding roles."

Endowment Returns in 2010 Less Than in 2009, Say Two New Surveys - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Endowments fared well last year, achieving investment returns of about 12 percent, but that is far less than what they achieved in 2009, when returns topped 20 percent, according to two studies—one of foundations and the other of charities—released today by the Commonfund Institute."

Connecticut Association of Nonprofits and CBIA Release 2nd Annual Connecticut Nonprofit Compensation... -- HARTFORD, Conn., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --: "Study reveals more than 50% of Connecticut nonprofits not offering cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2011

HARTFORD, Conn., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecticut Association of Nonprofits (CT Nonprofits), the largest membership organization in the state dedicated exclusively to working with nonprofits in Connecticut, in partnership with the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), Connecticut's largest business association with 10,000 member companies, has released The Connecticut Nonprofit Compensation Study (2nd edition) which summarizes information submitted by 266 nonprofit companies on pay administration and the wages and salaries paid for 96 positions within the nonprofit sector."

What Foundation CEO's Think About Evaluation - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "The Center for Effective Philanthropy released a survey at its conference in Boston today that injects some new data into the debate about whether foundations are doing enough—or too much, in the eyes of some—to measure their performance.

Seventy-two percent of the 537 foundation chief executives surveyed said that assessing their organization’s performance is a high priority, and 68 percent believe grant makers have made great progress in measuring their performance over the past decade."