Civic Duty Applauds Increased Generosity During America’s Stubborn Recession
(PRWEB) August 22, 2013 -- Civic Duty cofounders Julian Omidi and Dr. Michael Omidi are encouraged that philanthropic donations have increased 3.5 percent, keeping with the upward trajectory of charitable giving for the past two years. Americans gave a total of $316.23 billion to charity in 2012 according to the annual report released by the Giving USA Foundation.
The organizations that saw the greatest increases in charitable donations were arts and culture nonprofits (an increase of 7.8 percent), animal welfare and environmental organizations (an increase of 6.8 percent) and education (an increase of 7 percent).
In spite of a resistant unemployment rate and slow economic growth, giving from individuals, foundations and corporations has grown. Still, it is believed that it will take another six or seven years to get back to the 2007 peak of $344.48 billion in charitable donations. Individual donations made up 80 percent of all of 2012 charitable giving, with more than half of those who have donated earning less than $100,000 per year.
“We tend to think that only people with vast amounts of wealth give to charities, but that is simply not true,” says Julian Omidi, Civic Duty cofounder. “Everyone gives, even when times are tough. The recent Hurricane Sandy disaster is an example of regular people donating not only their money, but also their time and resources to help their communities.”
For 57 years, Giving USA (http://www.givingusareports.org) has produced the most comprehensive charitable giving data available for fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, donors and volunteers, scholars, and other individuals who work in or with the charitable sector. Its research, which estimates all giving to all charitable organizations across the United States is conducted by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Civic Duty (http://www.civicduty.org) is dedicated to mankind’s search for meaning and promotes the values of its founders, philanthropists Julian Omidi and his brother Dr. Michael Omidi. The charity’s mission is to inspire creative outreach, community service, and volunteerism through the stories of every-day people who are making an extraordinary difference in the world. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow men.” To get involved and help make a difference, send us a message using the website’s Contact Us function. More information about Civic Duty can be found on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter.
Media Relations, Civic Duty, http://www.childrensobesityfund.org/, 855-330-3600, [email protected]
Share this article