Where can I find statistical data on U.S. charities?

Foundation Center Resources:

• FC Stats is a free online resource that provides users with ready access to a wealth of statistical data on U.S. private and community foundations and their funding patterns. FC Stats currently offers more than 2,800 data tables available only from the Foundation Center. These tables and ranked lists provide the most frequently requested types of summary financial data on foundations. FC Stats is produced from the Center's research database, the authoritative national statistical data source on grantmaking foundations.

• The Top Funders section of the Center's web site has frequently updated rankings of U.S. foundations by assets and giving and includes data for independent, corporate, and community foundations.

• You can scan key findings and excerpts from the Foundation Center's research on foundation development and grantmaking patterns by visiting the Research Studies section at our web site.

Other Web Resources:

• The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. maintains databases related to charitable statistics, including its special project, the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) site. NCCS offers a Table Wizard that gives users access to a broad set of national reports on nonprofits and charitable activities in the United States. Users can customize the report filters to select from specific types of nonprofit organizations and categories (such as assets and revenues).

  Other statistical resources on the web site of the National Center for Charitable Statistics include Quick Facts, U.S. & State Profile Overview, and State Profiles in Depth.

• For basic statistics on giving (including giving by individuals), you might try the web site of the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Nonprofits, formerly the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Giving USA Foundation, publishers of Giving USA.

• The Independent Sector has a research section on its site including some statistical summaries.

• Charity Navigator, a national rating organization for the nonprofit sector, produces a metropolitan area survey of nonprofit organizations. The Metro Market Study 2007 surveys large public charities in 30 cities to provide comparison financial data on the nonprofit sector. Variables studied include revenue growth, program expenses, fundraising efficiency, fundraising expenses, and 12 other fiscal variables. You can view data either by variable (for all cities surveyed) or by city (for all variables).

  You might also be interested in Charity Navigator's 2007 Special Events Study, which uses data taken from the Forms 990 of public charities to examine special events reporting, efficacy (contributions from special events compared to total contributions), and efficiency (special events expenses divided by contributions received).

• Statistical Abstract of the United States features some statistical information of interest to nonprofit organizations.

Print/Online Resources:

• The Foundations Today Series provides the latest information on foundation growth and trends in foundation giving. Summaries can be found in the Research Studies section of the Center's site. Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates: Current Outlook (2007) can be found in full-text on our web site.

• Brown, Melissa S. (ed.). Giving USA 2006: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2005 (51st ed). Indianapolis, IN: Giving USA Foundation, AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, 2006. This publication is issued annually in September.

• Kaplan, Ann E. Voluntary Support of Education (2006 ed.). New York, NY: Council for Aid to Education. 2007. Annual report of voluntary giving to colleges, universities, and private elementary and secondary schools. Voluntary support includes donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, religious organizations, and other nongovernmental givers.

• The Nonprofit Sector in Brief: Facts and Figures from the Nonprofit Almanac 2007. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. 2006. Provides a summary of data prepared by the National Center for Charitable Statistics highlighting 2004-2005 statistics on the size of the sector, individual giving, and volunteering. Also available online.

• Volunteer Growth in America: A Review of Trends Since 1974. Washington, DC: Corporation for National & Community Service. 2006. This report is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data tracks volunteering over a 30-year in the United States. Also available online.

For other books and articles on charitable statistics, try searching our Catalog of Nonprofit Literature (CNL), the Center's bibliographic database. You could start searching on the subjects "Philanthropy--statistics", "Nonprofit organizations--statistics", or "Foundations--statistics".

Many of the books and articles found through CNL can be located in Foundation Center libraries and some Cooperating Collections. It is best to call ahead to verify a specific library's holdings.

If you are looking for employment compensation statistics, please see our FAQ Where can I find salary information for nonprofit jobs?

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