American philanthropy remained remarkably robust in 2009 in the face of enormous economic upheaval. Giving USA, the seminal report on the state of American philanthropy, is out and chock full of insights.

Compiled by Giving USA Foundation and its research partner, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, the study estimates that total charitable contributions from American individuals, corporations and foundations fell to $303.75 billion in 2009, down from a revised total of $315.08 billion for 2008 -- representing a fall of 3.6 percent in current dollars. This marks the third straight year total giving has topped the $300 billion level.

Of note, in addition to support from individuals and foundations, some non-profits received exceptional support from the corporate sector, which included billions of dollars' worth of in-kind donations, particularly from information technology firms and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Giving USA has reported U.S. charitable contributions since 1956.

Corporate Giving
Reinforcing Giving USA findings was the recent release of Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy's Corporate Giving Standard. The survey shows that median total giving declined to its lowest point while aggregate total giving rose by 7 percent, with wide fluctuations of noncash donations accompanying a decline in corporate and foundation cash contributions.

Over 165 companies participated in the survey, combining
to report a total of $12.1 billion in cash and product giving. To more accurately report on year-over-year trends, analysis was narrowed to a matched-set of 95 companies which responded to the survey in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. These matched-set companies account for over 80 percent of total giving in the survey and nearly half are Fortune 100 companies.

Some 40 percent of the companies in the matched-set gave more in 2009 than they did in 2008, some of which increased their giving so significantly that the aggregate of total giving rose to $9.93 billion.

Assessing Performance
More than 70 percent of foundation executives and program officers say more effort is needed to assess funder performance. The Center for Effective Philanthropy survey spotlights the following barriers:

· Difficulty in establishing causality between funding and creating change
· Lack of staff time
· Difficulty in aggregating results of different pieces due to long time horizons for change created

Some 70 percent of respondents said that recent declines in endowment values do not change their perspectives with respect to performance assessment, and an additional 25 percent said that endowment declines make assessment a higher priority.

Volunteering Surge
Do hard times suppress civic participation? Not so in today's America.

Despite difficult economic conditions, the number of Americans volunteering in their communities jumped by 1.6 million last year, the largest increase in six years.

The Corporation for National and Community Service's annual Volunteering in America report found that 63.4 million Americans volunteered through a formal organization last year, giving more than 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service worth an estimated $169 billion.

Frugal And Generous
Earlier in the year we were moved by the inspiring story of Grace Groner's $7 million bequest, now there's Verna Oller, who just passed away at 98 and the children of Long Beach, Wash. will forever be grateful for her philanthropy.

Oller, who cut her own hair, bought only thrift store clothes and refused to purchase even shoelaces, parlayed her tightness with a dollar into an act of super generosity. The former hourly paid fish filleter amassed $4.5 million through savvy stock picks -- and she donated all of it to her town so it could build the swimming pool she never had as a kid. She also left funds for scholarships and teaching grants.

All In The Family
Credit Suisse and the Institute for Philanthropy have published a white paper providing recommendations for philanthropists and their advisors on how to develop family philanthropy in a variety
of contexts, including the family foundation, the family business and a host of more informal giving schemes designed to help younger generations learn about philanthropy.

Models for family philanthropy fall broadly into three categories:

1. Family foundation: A board made up principally of family members oversees the activities of a philanthropic foundation.
2. Family business model: A family makes grants through the corporate foundation or corporate philanthropy program of a family
business.
3. Informal activities: Family giving initiatives organized around the kitchen table allow younger generations to learn about their
families' philanthropy in preparation for their future engagement.

This is for certain ... the name is synonymous with stewardship of the environment, in this case, the salt marsh. For more, read Sippewissett by Tim Traver. The author retells his childhood and a love of the area with its mud, tides and water.

Two Is Better Than One
Partners at work get more done, are more successful, and have a better time than solo players do plugging along in isolation. Power of 2: How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life by Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller builds on five years of in-depth Gallup research to reveal what makes a great partnership click.

The authors conclude that great partnerships don't just happen. "Whether your joint mission is to build a successful company, coach a team, improve the government, do something spectacular for a charity, or any other worthy goal, all successful partnerships share the same crucial ingredients." The book introduces readers to those special ingredients.

Fueling Innovation
The initial phase of philanthropic commitments totaling $50 million to match Social Innovation Fund grants and to invest in other innovative community solutions has been announced by the White House. This also includes an independent consortium of more than 20 national and regional funders led by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations who have come together to create the "Scaling What Works" initiative that will provide complementary funding for key initiatives to build the infrastructure needed for the long-term success.

The Social Innovation Fund is a new competitive grant program --housed at the Corporation for National and Community Service -- that invests in innovative solutions with evidence of impact and are ready to grow to meet the needs of more communities throughout America. It will drive more resources to high-impact nonprofit organizations working in three areas of national priority: Economic Opportunity, Healthy Futures, and Youth Development and School Support.

World What?
A Rasmussen Reports survey finds that one-out-of-three Americans don't even know what sport is played in the World Cup games.

Some 66 percent of adults correctly identify soccer, or football as it's known outside the U.S., as the sport played in the World Cup competition. However, three percent say it's all about baseball, and one percent each think the international teams will be playing tennis, hockey or golf. Twenty-eight percent are not sure what sport will be played.

Millionaires Are Us
The number of millionaire households in the world has bounced back to boom-time levels. The 2010 Global Wealth Report by the Boston Consulting Group says there were 11.2 million millionaire households in the world at the end of 2009, a 14 percent jump from 2008. That puts the millionaire count about where it was in the good old days before the global financial crisis.

Effective Newsletters
What makes a newsletter click with donors?

Tom Ahern is a communications guru based in Foster, R.I. and his guest column on the Association of Fundraising Professionals website makes sound suggestions. The overarching objectives are retaining donors and increasing gift revenue.

Ahern spotlights eight ingredients for success. No. 1: "Donors should feel something as they read your newsletter. Something. Glad, angry, relieved, hopeful, happy, proud, satisfied ... something. Judge everything you put in your newsletter by one standard: Is this news item, anecdote, statistic, or photo likely to make the donor feel something?"

Check out the entire guest column.

Hail To The Pets
The Presidential Pet Museum was founded as a repository and means of preserving information, artifacts, and items related to Presidential Pets. In 2007, after five years of steady growth, the Presidential Pet Museum moved from Annapolis, Maryland to President's Park in Williamsburg, Va.

It houses the world's largest collection of presidential pet memorabilia with over 500 items of interest on display for lovers of pets, Presidents and pet trivia. The museum is open year round to the public for all to view and enjoy.

P.S. My favorite presidential companion was Socks, the cat-in-chief during the Clinton administration. Remember the priceless photo of her peering over the Press Room podium?

Off Broadway And Out Of The Park
Are you both a citizen of Red Sox Nation and lover of the stage? Then the musical Johnny Baseball is for you, playing at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. through June 27th.

It traces the origin of the Curse of the Bambino to a collision of three orphaned souls: Johnny O'Brien, a hard-luck right-hander on the 1919 Sox; his idol, Babe Ruth; and Daisy Wyatt, a dazzling African-American blues singer and the love of Johnny's life. These three lives contain both the reason for the Curse and the secret to its end off the bat of David "Big Papi" Ortiz in 2004. Johnny Baseball packs a thoughtful commentary on American social history into a fun and spirited musical that will bring cheers and tears to baseball fans everywhere.

Quiz: Charitable Recipients
The sub-sectors, or types of charitable recipients, that saw declines tended to be those that are more likely to receive gifts through capital campaigns, contributions to endowments, and donations of art and property. Can you match the following sub-sectors with their percent of total giving received? Answers are shown at the bottom of the left-hand column. Until next month ...

a. 7%