wfn.org | Nation's Top Charities See 16 Percent Increase in Giving

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

2-November-1999 
99373 
 
    Nation's Top Charities See 16 Percent Increase in Giving 
 
    Salvation Army, YMCA top the list 
 
    by Religion News Service 
 
WASHINGTON-America's top charities raised 16 percent more last year than 
they did in 1997, a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey has found. 
 
    The increase in donations is the largest since 1991, the first year the 
newspaper began ranking the 400 charities that raise the most money from 
private sources. 
 
    For the seventh time in a row, the Salvation Army topped the list, 
raising $1.2 billion. 
 
    The YMCA of the USA and Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund came 
in second and third, respectively, each having increases of more than 25 
percent.  The YMCA raised $629.3 million and the Fidelity fund raised 
$571.9 million. 
 
    Several religious organizations in addition to the Salvation Army were 
among the top 20 groups cited by the magazine that covers the philanthropic 
community. 
 
    Catholic Charities, USA, ranked seventh, raising $446.2 million. World 
Vision, an evangelical Christian relief and development organization, 
raised $297.2 million, ranking 13th. Campus Crusade for Christ, an 
evangelical Christian ministry, raised $264.6 million, ranking 19th. 
 
    Fund raisers attribute the increase in giving to the strong economy. 
 
    "With the creation of capital for so many Americans, the last three or 
four years have been the best time for nonprofit fund-raising in over 25 
years - for as long as I've been in the field," said Lauren Libby, chief 
operating officer at The Navigators, a religious missionary organization 
that saw an 8 percent rise in its domestic contributions. 
 
    In addition to the economy, some groups say they are starting to see a 
sizable intergenerational wealth transfer, the newspaper reported. 
 
    The Christian and Missionary Alliance received so many requests 
regarding estate planning from donors that it has created a separate entity 
to advise donors on deferred gifts, such as bequests. In 1998, the alliance 
handled 414 transactions involving deferred gifts, an increase from 250 in 
the previous year. It is bringing in about $25 million in deferred gifts 
each year. 
 
    Charitable donations also have been driven by donors reaching out to 
victims of natural disasters.  Catholic Relief Services said it received 
$21.2 million in cash gifts specifically for victims of Hurricane Mitch. 
 
    Said Albert Brill, director of development for the Catholic group, "The 
phones started ringing on the day that the hurricane news hit the media, 
and they didn't stop for weeks on end." 

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