Many organizations and businesses across the state have voiced concerns over the latest NC Secretary of State Charitable Solicitation Licensing (CSL) Division Annual Report and the North Carolina Council of the State's most recent remarks on the decline of charitable giving in North Carolina. CapDev, a long-time Center partner and philanthropy consultant dedicated to in empowering the social impact sector, offers clarification and additional context.
News outlets across NC have been covering a story regarding the NC Secretary of State’s Charitable Solicitation Licensing (CSL) division’s latest annual report which showed that charitable donations were significantly down last year from the previous year.
An important point of clarification is that the CSL division measures the data on the state’s fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2024. The division’s annual report only reports on the activity of paid solicitors and paid sponsors, licensed companies, or individuals who are contracted to solicit on behalf of various nonprofits and typically withhold a portion of their collections as fees and distribute the remainder to the nonprofit. Activities conducted by these solicitors in this report include such fundraising activities such as direct mail, phone, and text solicitations, among others. Much fundraising, however, occurs outside of these engagements and is not accounted for in this report.
While some nonprofits may be aware of or have engaged these types of for-profit companies acting on behalf of nonprofits, we at Capital Development Services (CapDev) can only speculate without further research as to why these types of donations are down. Similarly to Secretary Marshall’s remarks in the story, possible factors include inflation and the economy, fatigue in these types of solicitations, and possibly the recent elections which saw an increase in phone/social media asking for campaign contributions.
This report, as the Secretary admits, does not include the full scale of philanthropy: the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations who give directly to nonprofits and not through a paid solicitor or paid sponsor. For clarity, CapDev and similar institutions measure annual philanthropic metrics primarily through Giving USA, the longest-running, most comprehensive report on philanthropy in the US. According to the recent findings released in June of this year, giving overall was slightly down in 2023 compared to the previous calendar year. The report reveals a decline by 2.1% in 2023 (over 2022) adjusted for inflation. Note: every giving source (individuals, foundations, bequests, corporations) increased in 2023, but not enough to outpace inflation. Although Giving USA does not break down the data by states, CapDev generally sees similar trends in North Carolina, which has always been a generous state to so many great causes. If anything, the results of this year’s Giving Tuesday, where nonprofits saw an uptick in generosity over last year, give us cause to remain bullish on philanthropy in the state.
Allan Burrows is CEO of Capital Development Services (CapDev) with expertise in organizational strategy, leadership engagement, major campaigns, and staffing. A devout UNC Tarheel alumnus, he has served the nonprofit sector since 1986, beginning with the Baptist Children’s Homes of NC and the NC Child Advocacy Institute. He volunteers in many capacities, has served on numerous nonprofit boards (including six years on the Center's board), and is a noted speaker and author on philanthropy and giving trends. Allan was awarded the Triad AFP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.
