Fundraising city by city report released

Despite the remnants of a recession and the continued difficult economic environment it is estimated that Americans will donate in excess of $300 billion US to charities this year. The spirit of donation remains an altruistic sign that many things remain good within our societies but regional variations are very evident. The largest non-profits look to assess the regional data and pool both their resources and fundraising efforts in the markets that make the most sense. To aid in such planning come the 7th annual study by Charity Navigator which looks at the largest charities in the 30 biggest metropolitan markets finding that charities in markets such as Pittsburgh, San Francisco and  and Dallas are in a more robust situation than Baltimore, Detroit and Nashville. Turbulent economic times will naturally change the currents of philanthropy and the most organized non-profits will use such data to maximize efficiencies. It makes perfect sense and is a shrewd way to analyze where potential budget shortfalls may occur to better enable responsible resource management.

Central Park, NYC at dusk

The study compares the performance and size of the largest nonprofits in the biggest markets in the US. These 30 urban regions comprise some 64% of total revenues for the charities in addition to 66% of the total spending. The 30 cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Washington, DC.  Regional influences such as the cost of living, age and standard of living demography, cities being strongly linked to a specific cause and others result in the ebb and flow that these annual surveys display. The full findings are available via the Charity Navigator website and provide a strategic component when viewing the regional landscape of fundraising. Ken Berger, President & CEO of Charity Navigator:

“In these difficult economic times, we know many Americans have to make tough choices regarding their ability to make charitable donations. Likewise, the professionals leading our nation’s charities must decide how to best utilize donations to achieve maximum social impact while retaining enough funds to sustain operations beyond the recession.  This study offers information that can help both donors and nonprofit leaders understand the financial strengths and weakness of each philanthropic marketplace and thus assist them in navigating through this challenging time.”

Besides the overall ‘ranking’ system the study provides a fountain of useful information. Amongst the data compiled one can assess regonal details and comparisons with regards to:

• Fundraising Efficiency: Analysis of the ratio spent versus fundraising dollar returned per each region
• Types of Charities:  An easy way to assess the diversity in fundraising in different cities
• Market Size: Studying the competition level amongst non profits in each city
• Donor Privacy Policy: A critical factor in establishing a relationship with a charity
• CEO Compensation: Helps to assess the efficiency and running costs of charities in different cities
• Annual Growth: To determine which city has the most rapidly growing

Charity Navigator’s site has a wealth of knowledge about this and many other indicators regarding the health and changes within the industry as over 5,000 non profits are profiled. At Miratel we offer the best in fundraising services with both our call centre and lottery management services, learn more about us today.