Dayton Business Journal...
Nonprofit giving seesaws going into 2012
by Laura Englehart, Reporter
Monday, December 5, 2011 

Despite an unsteady economic outlook and increased need in the Dayton region, community organizations have some reason to remain positive as they head into the new year. 

For some organizations, donations have remained flat or improved slightly from 2010, and they expect those numbers to stay about the same or increase in 2012. 

Nationwide, donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and bequests increased year over year a little more than 2 percent to $290 billion in 2010, said Dayton Foundation President Michael Parks. 

Despite that, donations from foundations, including the Dayton Foundation, slowed in 2010 and will decrease slightly in 2011. The foundation annually calculates how much it will provide in grants by taking 4 percent of its average balance in the past three years. 

“When you look at those three years, it includes the worst quarters of the market,” Parks said, which explains why the foundation has doled out fewer dollars while more individuals and corporations have slightly increased their donations to charities. 

In fiscal year 2010, the foundation contributed $36.6 million to organizations locally. In fiscal year 2011, which ended June 30, that declined to $33.2 million. 

But donations will continue to climb for individuals and corporations next year and foundations will follow, Parks said. 

“Most folks believe philanthropy will continue a modest increase in the next year,” he said. “Giving in America almost mirrors the economy directly; in good years people tend to give more, and in bad years they tend to give less.” 

The United Way of the Greater Dayton Area has watched corporations and others pick up and drop donation campaigns in the past year in what President and CEO Allen Elijah calls a delicate balancing act. 

The United Way has not brought in the donations it has hoped to receive, based on the continued need for its services, Elijah said. In 2009, the Dayton organization served 264,000 people through its programs and more than 70 health and human services partner agencies in Montgomery, Greene and Preble counties. In 2010, that increased 41 percent to 371,000. 

“That’s telling us there’s a continual need and there’s a gap in need due to a lack of resources in industries,” Elijah said. 

The United Way in Dayton recently has revisited its campaign model to focus more on individuals, rather than corporations, with social networking campaigns and an investment of time and resources into understanding that market segment. It also decided not to set a fundraising goal for its current campaign, which runs through February. 

Despite its ups and downs, Elijah is optimistic for the coming year. In 2009, the organization received funds from 22,000 donors, and that number increased to 25,000 in 2010. And still there are many others who could contribute. 

“If you look at what the potential is in the three-county area, it’s still over 300,000 people who have the potential to be part of the effort,” Elijah said. “That’s what I focus on.” 

Meanwhile, though the holiday season typically brings a boost from donors looking for tax breaks, Goodwill Easter Seals of the Miami Valley has seen its donations of clothing, household items, cars and other goods remain flat in the past year. The organization expects about the same for 2012, said Kim Bramlage, marketing and communications specialist. 

Goodwill Easter Seals receives monetary donations from United Way when contributors designate their funds for the organization, and Bramlage said those donations have decreased in the past year; however, more shoppers in Goodwill stores has continued to bring in funding for the Goodwill Easter Seals programs, which assist those with developmental disabilities, children, seniors and job-seekers. 

Still, if donations match previous years in 2012, Bramlage said the organization would count it a success. 

“We’ll be doing well, if we make it to this level,” she said. 

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