Jackson County residents and institutions rose above a national trend in giving during 2022, or at least in their giving to the Community Foundation of Jackson County.
Nationally, Americans continued to give generously during this past year, although overall giving declined after two years of record generosity.
That news comes from the recently published Giving USA 2023: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2022 as it shows that individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations awarded an estimated $499.33 billion to U.S. charities.
Stock market losses and economic uncertainty, including high inflation, emerged as chief suspects in the dampening of giving, the report concludes. Total giving declined 3.4% in current dollars — down 10.5% after adjusting for inflation — from a revised total of $516.65 billion in 2021, the report states.
Here at home, the Community Foundation of Jackson County received $932,676.71 in new gifts during 2022, up from $845,134.34 in 2021 — much appreciated giving to help fund important work and scholarships. During the same time, the foundation awarded $899,595.32 in overall grants and scholarships during 2022.
Those grants funded good work throughout the community, including support for opening the new Child Care Network child care center, creative Classroom Education Grants and a record $103,000 in fall grant awards to help feed the hungry, house the homeless, fight fires, educate children, support our immigrant population, preserve history and support the Community Agency Building.
Overall, giving to foundations is estimated to have increased by 10.1% in 2022, to $56.84 billion, according to the report. As noted earlier, giving to the Community Foundation of Jackson County totaled $932,676.71 or 10.2%. Adjusted for inflation, overall giving to foundations grew by 1.9%, about the same here to the foundation.
The Giving USA report, the longest-running report on the sources and uses of charitable giving in America, is published by the Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of The Giving Institute. It is researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
It reports giving had been strong in 2020 and 2021 — which held true here at the foundation, as well — with donors responding to growing need in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation saw record giving of $1.17 million in 2020.
Total charitable giving has fallen only three other times in the last 40 years in current dollars: 1987, 2008 and 2009, the report states.
The bottom line here is that decreases in giving can negatively affect the ability of local nonprofits to meet the real-life needs of the people they serve, reducing their impact and reach on helping those among us who most need a hand up.
“Drops in the stock market and high inflation caused many households to make tough decisions about their charitable giving for the year,” said Josh Birkholz, chair of the Giving USA Foundation. “But despite uncertain economic times, Americans demonstrated how essential they view the nonprofit sector and its ability to solve big problems — by still giving nearly half a trillion dollars in 2022.”
Amir Pasic, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, agreed.
“Declines in giving like those we saw in 2022 have a tangible impact on nonprofit organizations, especially those that rely on charitable dollars to support their daily work,” Pasic said. “ … however, Giving USA’s historical data also provide a case for hope: We have seen charitable giving rebound from each decline.”
The Community Foundation of Jackson County’s board of directors and staff hope that proves true again. Though sometimes on a roller coaster ride, our investment returns are up so far this year, and new giving to the foundation totaled $438,940.45 through July 31. That’s a good pace should the trend continue through the end of the year.
The report showed growth in three of the four sources of giving in 2022 in current dollars, but all four sources declined when adjusted for inflation. Giving by foundations and corporations posted positive two-year growth, even when adjusting for inflation.
Measured in current dollars, giving grew in five of the nine categories of nonprofits that receive charitable contributions, although this growth largely did not keep pace with the 8% inflation rate. In inflation-adjusted terms, seven of these nine subsectors experienced a decline. Giving to foundations and giving to international affairs both grew in inflation-adjusted terms, at 1.9% and 2.7%, respectively.
As noted earlier, giving to the Community Foundation of Jackson County was strong again in 2022 with gifts totaling more than $930,000.
Local giving, we believe, is a result of our community stepping up in a time of need and a recognition of the work that the foundation and our many community partners do, playing a vital role in collaborating with other nonprofits performing important work across our community. We value, understand and appreciate the giving of our donors.
Without the generosity of those individuals, organizations and businesses, our work could not take place.
Thank you for giving. Thank you for supporting our community. Thank you for supporting the Community Foundation of Jackson County.
Dan Davis is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Jackson County. The foundation administers more than 200 funds with assets of more than $16 million. For information about how you can make a donation to any of the funds administered by the foundation or how you might start a new fund, call 812-523-4483 or send an email to Dan Davis at [email protected].