According to Giving USA’s annual report, Americans gave an estimated $410 billion to nonprofits in 2017, a figure that was up 5.2 percent from 2016. Nonprofits involving education, health, arts, public society benefit, and the environment all saw gains of more than six percent last year.
So how is 2018 shaping up? Here are several factors that could affect the donations nonprofit organizations can expect this year.
Tax Code Changes
Being able to get a tax deduction for charitable donations has been a powerful incentive for some donors to give before the end of the year. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is expected to dramatically reduce the number of people who will itemize their donations, which could remove that incentive. According to this Detroit Free Press story, 46.5 million tax returns were itemized in 2017, but officials from the Joint Committee on Taxation expect that number to drop to 18 million for 2018 returns.
News Events Inspire Action
Donors are often inspired by what they see in the news. This type of giving includes donating to help the victims of natural disasters, like the too many we have witnessed in 2018. There is even a term for donations inspired by the Trump Administration’s actions called “Trump Powered Giving.” Make sure you are aware of events in the news that speak to your work, which could be excellent timing for a call for donations to support your cause.
Donors are Getting Smarter
More consumers than ever are doing their homework before pulling out their checkbook. There are a host of sites where people can do research on nonprofit organizations including Charity Navigator, Guidestar and Better Business Bureau. According to their website, Charity Navigator alone gets 11 million visitors annually and has information on more than 9,000 organizations. Nonprofits should check their reviews on these sites on a regular basis to ensure they know what is being said about them.
Social Media is a Powerful Tool
According to Nonprofit Tech for Good’s 2018 Global Trends in Giving Report, social media is the communication tool that most inspires giving. Among social media the platform that lead to the most donations is Facebook, followed by Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.According to Good News Network, Facebook recently announced more than a billion dollars have been raised for more than a million nonprofits in 19 countries and personal causes since their fundraising tools and “donate” buttons were launched in 2015.
Crowdfunding is having an Impact
The Global Trends in Giving report found that crowdfunding campaigns that benefit individuals are growing in popularity. More than 40 percent of donors who give to nonprofits also donate to online crowdfunding campaigns that benefit individuals. This is a trend that nonprofits need to keep an eye on moving forward.
Leaders who stay on top of these trends may be able to leverage more funding for their organizations.
