Both ECFA and Guidestar recently released survey results of giving trends in 2010. Wanted to put the results side by side. Guidestar had about 2,500 responses comparing first 9 months of 2010 to same months in 2009. ECFA had about 300 responses comparing first 10 months of 2010 to 2009.
Here is a comparison of their results:
ECFA – Guidestar
20% 36% – increase giving
46% 27% – same level of giving (ECFA defined same as +/-5%)
34% 37% – decrease giving
That is not a lot of info and it invites more questions. However, it is a whole lot more information about what is happening that you and I can gain from talking to our limited circle of contacts.