Mutually assured survival: library fund-raising strategies in a changing economy

   Shriveling endowments and a new wave of philanthropic thriftiness
   have compelled many organizations to lay off workers, to leave staff
   positions unfilled, and to tell grant seekers not to bother. (Strom,
   2002b, p. A27)

Tamar C. Podell, vice president for planning and development at Lincoln Center, Inc., qualified the situation further by noting the three distinct ways in which giving will be impacted by current and anticipated future economic conditions:

   The economy is soft, which means reduced earnings, which translates
   into concerns about corporate giving. Then there is the stock market
   decline, which we fear might have a negative effect on year-end
   giving by individual donors, and finally, the foundation support
   that we have come to greatly appreciate is most likely going to be
   reduced. (Strom, 2002b, p. A27)

Another New York City fund-raiser, referring to the recent inability of certain individual donors to fulfill pledge commitments, framed the situation this way: "Tack a list of dot-coms, telcos, venture capital firms, financial services companies, and tech companies to a wall and throw a dart. I guarantee you'll find an executive that can't live up to a commitment he made to an institution" (Strom, 2002b, p. A27).

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education,

   Efforts to raise money lagged in the immediate aftermath of
   September 11, as some institutions stopped fund-raising altogether
   or did not solicit from donors in the New York or Washington areas,
   sometimes for months. Then, late in the fiscal year, the stock
   market slide began, imperiling the relative wealth of donors. (Van
   Der Werf et al., 2002, p. A27)

These events delivered a veritable one-two punch to academic and cultural find-raising, severely curtailing the immediate flow of revenue and dramatically altering long-range fund-raising plans designed to meet future goals and priorities.

It is important to remember, however, that the current philanthropic slowdown began not with the events of September 11th, but with the widespread Internet business failures setting this most recent recession in motion, followed by volatility of the capital markets, a sharp drop in corporate profits, and slower growth of personal income. When adjusted for inflation, data show that charitable giving in 2001 declined by some 2.3 percent over the previous year, a trend that has continued throughout 2002. According to American Association of Fundraising Council (AAFRC) Trust for Philanthropy chair Leo P. Arnoult, charitable giving "fits the pattern we have seen during previous recessions. In six of the eight recession years since 1971, giving dropped by one to five percent when adjusted for inflation" (Pulley, 2002a, p. A27).

Support for all charitable causes, including education and related initiatives, fell in 2001 when adjusted for inflation. Similarly, gifts from living individuals, which account for nearly three-fourths of all giving, declined by 1.7 percent when adjusted for inflation. The Giving USA report informs that estimated corporate giving suffered the steepest drop, declining 12.1 percent, to $9.1 billion, an inflation-adjusted decline of 14.5 percent (Pulley, 2002a, p. A27).