Giving USA released its 2009 giving number today. Individuals and institutions gave away 303.75 billion in 2009, a decrease of 3.2 percent on an inflation adjusted basis.

The news wasn’t great for American non-profits, but wouldn’t you like to know that kind of news ahead of time? The Atlas of Giving forecast of 2009 total giving was $300.09 billion, with a statistical margin of error of +/- 4%. We missed hitting the Giving USA number on the nose by 1.2%.

Charitable giving fell again last year, reflecting the continued impact of the economic downturn on donations.

Read the NY Times story on the Giving USA release.

This means that the Atlas of Giving methodology as applied in creating our 2009 forecast is even more accurate than we initially believed. The significance of this cannot be overstated. In the weeks and months to come, the Atlas of Giving will become a powerful force in nonprofit management and income advancement. Up until today, we believed this to be true. Now, we know it to be true.

Click here to find out how you can get access to the revolutionary new Atlas of Giving indexing and forecasting tool.

Hank Zachry
President
Philanthromax