Share of charitable giving in NY going to professional fundraisers drops, state says

Charitable giving in New York State has increased over the past year, while a decreased percentage is going to professional fundraisers, according to the 2024 "Pennies for Charity" annual report by state Attorney General Letitia James, which was released Monday in advance of "GivingTuesday," when people are encouraged to donate to charities.

The report analyzed data in 2023 for 581 fundraising campaigns conducted by professional fundraisers hired by the charities to raise money, based on reports they submitted to the Office of the Attorney General's Charities Bureau. The report found that the giving campaigns raised nearly $1.5 billion in 2023, up $5.8 million from the year before. Of that amount, charities received 83% of the donations, up from 77% in 2022. Meanwhile, professional fundraisers received 17% of the proceeds last year, down from 23% in 2022, according to the attorney general's report.

The report noted there were nine more charities included in the 2023 analysis

The total amount of charitable contributions raised in the campaigns studied by James' office was $1,496,268,115. Of that, the report said charities received "gross revenues over $1.234 billion," while professional fundraisers "retained more than $261 million. On average, these fundraisers kept 17 percent of funds raised to cover the costs of conducting the charitable campaigns and their fees," the report said, a percentage that has been dropping since 2019, when it was 28%, according to a chart in the report.

In addition, the report found that in "46 percent of campaigns, charities received less than 50 percent of funds raised," and in 16% of the campaigns "expenses exceeded revenue, costing charities more than $26 million."

In a statement, James said: "New Yorkers have a proud tradition of giving and they deserve to know that their hard-earned donations are being used responsibly. I encourage everyone to consult my office's tips for charitable giving before making donations this holiday season " at ag.ny.gov/charities-nonprofits/2024-pennies#tips.

The report noted a decline in contributions from small, individual donors, while at the same time finding there was a "big increase in significant single gifts and in grants funded by large donor-advised funds (DAFs). While large donations like these can provide a short-term boost to a charity, individual giving by committed donors helps create a robust civil society in many ways," the report said.

The report added: "In 2023, charities faced rising prices, staffing shortages, and the inability to offer competitive wages, while at the same time grappling with the steady decline in the numbers of individual donors." The report also said while there were fewer individual donors, "some actually gave more: The dollar amount brought in by total giving increased by 1.9 percent compared to 2022. However, total giving did not outpace inflation. All across New York, charities felt the pinch."

The effect of inflation was noted by the Giving USA 2024: Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2023, released earlier this year, which found that charitable giving nationally topped $557 billion in 2023, increasing just under 2% over the prior year in current dollars. However, the increase did not keep up with inflation or surpass the inflation-adjusted high of giving reached in 2021, officials told Newsday in July. When adjusted for inflation, that figure represents a 2.1% decrease.
 

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie