According to Giving USA there was a 3.2 percent cumulative decline in contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals in 2009. Of those three entities, it is reported that giving from individuals remained flat. These results surprised many charities that experienced more severe declines in gifts. Learn more about reactions to and how this data is calculated in the following article.
From The Chronicle of Philanthropy:
“…Individuals, who make 75 percent of all charitable contributions, held steady in their giving [in 2009], providing more than $227-billion, the same sum they contributed in 2008, according to researchers at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, who compile Giving USA. That finding, however, puzzles many fund raisers and scholars, who see few, if any, signs that individuals gave the same amount last year, as the nation struggled with the worst recession in 70 years.”
Full Article: “Americans Didn’t Pull Back on Their Giving Last Year, Report Finds”