Charitable giving stays steady at $240B in 2003
While charitable donation have remained steady between 2002 and 2003, the number of charties continues to grow rapidly. And I'm wondering whether this number includes the money given by wealthy individuals to their foundations but not necessarily passed on to nonprofits in need. According to this New York Times story (registration required):
Americans gave an estimated $240.72 billion in 2003, a slight increase from the previous year, according to Giving U.S.A., an annual survey of charitable contributions published by the A.A.F.R.C. Trust for Philanthropy, a unit of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, and compiled by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
Estimated giving in 2003 equaled roughly 2.2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, the fifth year since 1971 that charitable contributions exceeded 2 percent of the total output of goods and services.
...The sector continues to struggle in part because the number of charities continues to rise at a faster pace than charitable giving. The Internal Revenue Service grants tax exemption to an average of 83 nonprofit groups a day.