JGA Blog

We know that 2018 was a complex year for charitable giving – $427.71 billion total charitable giving in the US, the second highest level of giving ever. Yet in actuality, giving was essentially flat in 2018, coming off of a record-breaking 2017 and four years of consecutive growth. As giving mirrors economic fluctuations, the strong performance of economic indicators in 2018 helped drive growth, yet stock market volatility at the end of 2018 may have negatively impacted giving by individuals. Also, the uncertainty of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may have impacted individual giving as well.

With these complexities, how do we grow philanthropy in our nation? This has been a key leadership question at JGA over the 25 years of our work with nonprofit clients. We are committed to strengthening philanthropy through research and best practice – and by learning from our colleagues and friends in the industry. 

Perhaps the culmination of our commitment to growing philanthropy takes place this year – our 25^th anniversary year – with the appointment of our Senior Consultant and Founder, Ted R. Grossnickle, CFRE, as the Chair of the Giving Institute.

At Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates, we are a philanthropic consulting firm that takes our vision quite seriously:

“JGA strengthens the field of philanthropy and empowers not-for-profit organizations to make the world a better place.”

It’s been that way since 1994, when Don Johnson and Ted Grossnickle had a vision for a distinctly different consulting firm. From the beginning, JGA was intended to be a high-quality, personalized, deeply strategic consulting practice for nonprofits. JGA would be the firm that would think intuitively about a client situation. If needed, a consultant would take extra time to do the job right. JGA would under-promise and over-deliver. And, consequently, through good service to the nonprofit community, JGA would have a positive impact in making the world a better place – living out our vision. 

JGA once again is pleased to sponsor the Kindelsperger Forum on Wednesday, September 5th.  The Forum honors our late colleague Kris Kindelsperger and aims to bring new ideas to the practice of our common work in philanthropy. This year, we will explore the rapidly changing environment of workplace giving and what it means for nonprofits.

What does the term “philanthropist” mean? Would you consider yourself to be one? What factors influence how and when people give, whether that means volunteering time or donating money?

Giving USA released its newest estimates of charitable giving in America today, and the results should be reassuring for nonprofits around the country as they look at the latest philanthropy trends.  According to Giving USA 2016: The Annual Report on Philanthropy, total giving grew by 4.1 percent to $373.25 billion in 2015.  This marks the highest total amount given in the 40 years Giving USA has tracked this data, both in current dollars and when adjusted for inflation. 

The past decade has been a tumultuous one for both the economy and philanthropy.  This data suggests that the years of crisis and ensuing period of recovery have now been replaced by a period of stable growth.  For the past six years, total giving to charitable causes in America has steadily increased.

As we begin a New Year, we reflect on the wonderful generosity of so many individuals, corporations, and foundations whose charitable giving in 2015 enriched and saved lives through the arts, education, healthcare, environment, human services, and religion.

In 2015, we learned that philanthropy had reached a new high, reaching $358.38 billion, a 7.1% increase in current dollars (5.4% in inflation-adjusted dollars). This is reported to be the fastest recovery on record for the

The rapid changes in our world create challenges and opportunities that are exciting, yet can be difficult to wrap our arms around as citizens, leaders, philanthropists, and fundraising professionals. A poignant example of rapid change in the field of philanthropy is the advent of #GivingTuesday over the past few years.

While we all know many examples of extreme generosity through charitable bequests, a new CNBC survey of high-net-worth individuals paints a different picture.

A recent Wall Street Journal article profiled Ethicist Peter Singer’s comments about a $100 million contribution by David Geffen for Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York. He questioned whether that was really the best thing that could have been done with Mr. Geffen’s money.

What is trending today in the world of philanthropy? What is the philanthropic context in which we work? As we anticipate important shifts in philanthropy in 2015, I thought it would be helpful to look at some key philanthropic trends and how they may impact how donors G-I-V-E.