A year ago, I wrote The Big Shift in Fundraising, an upbeat post about changing trends in giving.

To sum it up: After decades of gradual “wealthification” of U.S. philanthropy – a greater percentage of the philanthropic pie contributed by wealthy and uber-wealthy donors – donors flipped the script in 2016. Most of the growth in giving came from small to mid-sized gifts contributed by non-wealthy people.

In the words of Patrick M. Rooney of Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, “We saw something of a democratization of philanthropy.” This was great news for fundraisers, most of whom will never access the mega-rich.

The big question: Was this the beginning of a new trend or just a blip in the data?

First, the bad news

In 2017, the long-term trend reasserted itself. As outlined by Dr. Rooney in the fall 2018 edition of the Nonprofit Quarterly, total giving continues to rise while the number of households that give – and the median amount they give – continues to fall.

The title of his article provides a nice synopsis: The growth in total household giving is camouflaging a decline in giving by small and medium donors. What can we do about it?

Among the data points you might find helpful (or problematic, depending on your perspective):

• Overall, U.S. philanthropy is WAY up through 2017: almost triple the total amount contributed in 1977, even with inflation factored in. That’s the good part.

• However, during the same 40-year period, household giving – money from people, not foundations or corporations – has declined from 84% of total giving to 70%.

• In 2002, 68% of households gave to nonprofits. By 2014, that number had fallen to 56%. This may be a lingering effect of the Great Recession.

• The wealthy are contributing a much bigger slice of the pie. Households earning more than $1 million per year provided 30% of itemized giving in 2015, up from 10% in 1993.

In the words of Dr. Rooney, “The loss of gifts from lower- and middle-income households … makes our philanthropic sector less vibrant as well as less reflective of our overall society, thereby diminishing our civil discourse.”

This “wealthification” of giving isn’t healthy for society, democracy, or the resilience of the nonprofit sector.

Now the good news 

Despite this challenging long-term trend, regular folks – middle class, working class, and poor people – continue to contribute somewhere in the range of $100 to $200 billion per year. That’s enough money to help sustain many, many nonprofits – especially grassroots organizations that are unlikely to reach wealthy donors.

What happened in 2016 offers some positive clues for moving forward.

We were reminded then that civic engagement – volunteering, becoming politically active, joining like-minded people to participate in favorite causes – boosts fundraising. Decades of data underline this point: people who donate their time are much more likely to also donate money.

If you’re obsessing about the mega-wealthy while ignoring the financial and volunteer potential of your neighbors, you’re missing a big opportunity.

How you can respond

As a fundraiser, your number one priority is to engage your donors more deeply. Identify a wide range of volunteer options, from relatively easy (share your social media posts, write a testimonial) to tasks that require deeper commitment (host a house party, join your board).

When you engage your supporters, they give more, give more often, and give for many more years.

Other steps you can take right now:

• Encourage monthly giving. Sustainer programs, with donors giving automatically each month from their credit cards or bank accounts, is a great way to boost donations and increase loyalty.

• Encourage legacy gifts. Modest donors can and do leave substantial gifts when they pass away. Indeed, the people who are most likely to remember you in their estate plans are the ones who give $25 or $50 or $100 per year for a decade or more. This is a primary reason to build a broad donor base, regardless of the larger philanthropic trends.

• Create community. Bring your supporters together to reinforce their commitment to your shared work and the change they want to create.

Policy change to equalize giving

Public policies can have a big impact on who gives, how much they give, and how the money is used.

For example, nonprofit land trusts benefit from tax policies that encourage land owners to protect their land for conservation purposes.

How do we use public policy to reverse the decline of smaller donors? Patrick Rooney offers one prescription: “Reinstate the universal charitable deduction for all households, regardless of whether they itemize deductions [and] regardless of income level. This measure was a part of the federal tax code from 1982 through 1986, so it is hardly uncharted territory.”

Consultant and author Kim Klein, responding to recent changes in the tax law, argues for a more equitable tax policy – including reinstatement of the estate tax – while also noting that philanthropic giving is driven by mission and relationships. “No one,” she says, “believes that the charitable tax deduction was ever the primary incentive for giving.”

The more things change…

As a fundraiser, your work remains largely the same in this changing environment: recruiting new donors to broaden your base, while strengthening relationships with the donors you already have.

As you pay attention to the trends, keep doing your work.