Leisure Time in Our Community - Where Is Our Money Going?

In 1999², there were 217,910 public charities in the United States, which took in a total of $143.6 billion in charitable contributions from the public. This represents a 47.6% increase in the number of public charities and a 56.3% increase (constant 2000 dollars) in charitable contributions since 1992. Over this time period, most types of charities saw the percentage of household contributors remain fairly steady or rise. The graphic shows the percentage of households that gave to various types of charities for the years 1987-1998.

Religious charities did not share in the increases. These types of charities had the highest percentage of household contributors — but they have seen a steady decrease in that percentage over most of this time period. One simple reason might be a decline in attendance at religious services: 59% of the population attended religious services³ in 1990-1991 compared to 55% in 1995-1998.

Educational, environmental, and health charities all saw large increases in the percentage of household contributors between 1987 and 1991; but they have also seen large decreases in the percentage of household contributors between 1991 and 1998. Only environmental charities have seen a bit of an increase (0.9%) from 1995 to 1998. The others saw dramatic decreases (-7.7% for educational charities and -6.5% for health charities) between these two years.

There are no data handy to explain the unusual giving pattern for educational charities. But the increase in the percentages of households that gave to environmental charities could have been due to media coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and cleanup effort in 1989. In 1990, the Spotted owl was put on the threatened species list, which led to standoffs between the timber industry, the government, and environmental groups. The Clean Air Act also was passed in 1990, and changes in such legislation generate a strong drumbeat of interest. In 1991, Biosphere II⁴ was in the news.

The spike in the percentage of households giving to health charities from 1987 to 1991 (a 9% increase) could partially be explained by the publicity given to the AIDS epidemic during these years. In 1989, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt⁵ was nominated for a Nobel Prize. The quilt was also touring the country to bring attention to the victims of HIV and AIDS. In 1990, the quilt was profiled in a feature-length documentary called "Common Threads." The movie won an Academy Award that year. The red ribbons that have become common on the lapels of stage, screen and music stars in recent years were introduced in 1991. In the medical world, new drugs to fight HIV and AIDS were in the news. In the sports world, Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV positive. Later that year he created the Magic Johnson Foundation, which raises funds for community organizations that provide education about treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS.

In later years, as media attention to these events waned, so, seemingly, did the interest in giving to environmental and health-related charities.

Although giving to international charities has been steady over the years, there was an increase (3.3%) in the percentage of household contributors between 1993 and 1995. This rise coincided with the 10th anniversary of Live Aid, a concert to raise money for the victims of famine in Africa. Publicity and news reports on conditions in Africa may have spurred more people to give. This enthusiasm waned, but a higher percentage of households were giving to international charities in 1998 than in each of the years⁶ before 1995.

Regardless of whether or not a higher percentage of the population contributes to a certain type of charity, the amount contributed in each category has increased dramatically since 1992.

Public Support of Charitable Organizations⁷, 1992 and 1999

Type of Charity	% change (1992-1999)	1992 ($ mil)	1999 ($ mil)
Total	56.3	94,995.3	148,433.7
Environment	126.3	1,191.0	2,694.7
Public, societal benefit	85.2	6,584.7	12,194.2
Religion, spiritual development	84.1	2,122.9	3,909.0
Recreation	78.1	973.4	1,733.5
International	70.0	3,372.8	5,732.5
Arts, culture, humanities	62.2	6,766.0	10,973.1
Youth development	58.4	1,475.3	2,336.2
Human services	57.4	27,676.3	43,563.5
Education	51.6	24,490.6	37,132.6
Health	45.3	20,118.4	29,240.2

The next panel discusses where we volunteered our time.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2001. National Center for Charitable Statistics. "Reporting Public Charities in the United States by Type, Circa 1999." Retrieved February 8, 2002 from http://nccs.urban.org. National Center for Charitable Statistics. "Reporting Charitable Organizations and Their Finances by Type and Selected NTEE Classification in the United States, circa 1992." Retrieved February 8, 2002 from http://nccs.urban.org. "Campus to Show AIDS Quilt Apr. 22." Columbia University Record, April 14, 1995. Retrieved February 13, 2002 from http://www.columbia.edu. The Magic Johnson Foundation. "About the Foundation." Retrieved February 13, 2002 from http://www.magicjohnson.org. The Park Community: Shelter. "Welcome to the Dealing with HIV/AIDS pages." Retrieved February 13, 2002 from http://www.thepark.com/volunteer/safehaven/hiv/hiv.htm. Neville Hodgkinson. "The Cure That Failed." The Sunday Times, April 4, 1993. Retrieved February 13, 2002 from http://www.duesberg.com/nhcure.html. Environmental history data: "Timeline of the 80's, 1989." Retrieved February 15, 2002 from http://www.inthe80s.com/time1989.shtml. "Timeline of the 90's, 1990." Retrieved February 15, 2002 from http://www.inthe90s.com/time1990.shtml. "Timeline of the 90's, 1991." Retrieved February 15, 2002 from http://www.inthe90s.com/time1991.shtml.