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DEL.ICIO.USMore Georgians give to charity; but the average gift has gotten smaller
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More Georgians are making philanthropic donations, but the amount of their gifts has gone down.
Those are the results of the study Georgia’s Giving Trends by the Atlanta-based Alexander, Haas, Martin & Partners fund-raising firm.
Georgia’s charitable contributions by individuals, based on Internal Revenue Service data, has gone from $2.73 billion in 1996 to $6.61 billion in 2006, the latest year available.
Between 2005 and 2006, total giving by Georgians went up $100 million; and the total number of donors increased by 45,000 between 2005 and 2006. That meant the average gift dropped from $4,207 to $4,110.
Those figures were released at a luncheon Tuesday at the Commerce Club, along with the results of the latest report from the Giving USA Foundation, also released this week.
The Georgia survey also listed the top 10 foundations in terms of their 2006 giving and 2006 assets.
The No. 1 foundation in both cases was the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, which made grants of $100.3 million in 2006; it had assets of about $2.25 billion.
The Thomas and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation has given funds for two in-depth philanthropic studies on Georgia that should be completed by the end of the year. One study will focus on where philanthropic dollars come from, and the other will look at where philanthropic dollars are given.
The national Giving USA Foundation reports show that nationally, charitable giving topped $306.4 billion in 2007, a record. It also showed that individuals give 75 percent of that. Religion is still the top recipient —- 33.4 percent, but that continues to decline. In the mid-1980s, religion received 56 percent of all giving.
The Giving USA Foundation has an important Atlanta link. Its chairwoman is Del Martin, who is a founding partner of Alexander, Haas, Martin & Partners.
Martin is turning over the day-to-day management of the firm to David King so she can focus on Giving USA. She will remain chairwoman of the firm.
Philanthropists about to retire
During this summer, several people who have played special roles in the community will be retiring.
Bobby Mays, SunTrust’s first vice president of endowment and foundations, will retire this month. But he’s agreed to help out as a consultant until the end of 2009 with the bank’s monthly grant-seeking forum.
Mays said he’s following the advice of one of his mentors: “You should always go when everyone still wants you to stay and when you’re at the top of your game.” Art McClung, a 25-year executive at Georgia Power who has been on loan to the city of Atlanta for the past six years, will retire July 1.
McClung, whose civic roles have included vice chairmanship of MARTA, plans to keep working with Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Next Steps program to help graduating high school students.
“I’m going to remain committed to making Atlanta a better place to work, live and play,” McClung said, adding that he plans to become more involved in several political campaigns.
And after 11 years, Martin Lehfeldt, president of the Southeastern Council of Foundations, is retiring from his post in August. He plans to help in the transition of his successor, Michael Howland, who currently serves as CEO of Noble of Indiana, which serves people with developmental disabilities
“I can’t think of a more exciting time to be involved in philanthropy,” Lehfeldt said, because of the growth in the number of foundations and the “intergenerational transfer” of giving.
By the way, former BellSouth community executive Jim Breedlove joined the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in February as vice president.
Bankers back to competing again
One reinvigorated community leader is Bill Linginfelter, who this week became head of Regions Financial Corp.’s Atlanta and North Georgia operations.
Linginfelter, who had been Georgia president for Wachovia, lost his job through a reorganization last fall, just a couple of months before he was to become chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
So Kessel Stelling, president of Bank of North Georgia, agreed to become the 2008 chairman of the Metro chamber.
The irony? Linginfelter and Stelling are back to being competitors in the market.
“If I couldn’t be chairman, I’m just glad that it was someone who had as much interest and passion for our city and region as Kessel,” Linginfelter said. “He is a worthy competitor.”
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