Good Holiday News!

After slipping by 3.6 percent to $304 billion in 2009, charitable giving stabilized in the first nine months of 2010 according to a report released last month by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative. Of the 2,500 organizations responding, 36 percent said total giving rose compared with the same period in 2009 while 37 percent said giving fell, and the remainder reported no change. Most organizations were hopeful about 2011 with 47 percent increasing their budgets, 33 percent planning to maintain their current level of expenditures, and only 20 percent anticipating a lower budget.