Giving USA: Philanthropy Sets Record in 2015; Climate for Planned Gifts Looks Good

Philanthropy in America continued its record-setting pace in 2015 - increasing 4% from the year before and averaging more than a billion dollars a day - according to Giving USA™ 2016, the just-released annual study. Bequests, which tend to fluctuate from year to year based on very large gifts, were up 2%, the least of four giving categories. But study authors cited several factors that should help the climate for bequests and other planned gifts.

Here is a breakdown of the $373 billion given to charities in 2015:

Charitable Giving in 2015

Category By Individuals By Foundations By Bequest By Corporations TOTAL

In Billions $264.58 58.46 31.76 18.45 $373.25

% Increase 3.8% 6.5% 2.1% 3.9% 4.1%

The study cited these three factors as encouraging for planned gifts:

• The 2015 Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality created a whole new market for bequests. As same-sex couples create shared estate plans, charities have an exciting opportunity to encourage unique legacy gifts and creative endowments.

• With the IRA charitable rollover made permanent in 2015, many older persons who do not itemize deductions gain a new benefit, and charities have an excellent reason to meet face-to-face with all older supporters. Individuals with IRAs will save tax dollars by making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) and avoid having to take their taxable required minimum distribution (RMD).

• The federal mid-term discount rate has stubbornly hovered around 2% for the past three years. This encourages high-net-worth donors to create charitable lead trusts that provide an immediate income stream to charities and a low-cost transfer of assets to heirs.

The study reported that the value of charitable lead trusts climbed to almost $24 billion in 2012, the most recent year for which IRS statistics were available, up more than $4 billion since 2010. Charitable remainder trusts, however, dropped in value by more than $7 billion during the same period. Of course they don't provide an immediate income stream to charities.

The two largest bequests in 2015 were:

• The estate of Richard Mellon Scaife (Pittsburgh) gave a total of $758.9 million to the Allegheny Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and other groups.

• The estate of John Santikos (San Antonio) included $605 million in charitable bequests, most notably to the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation at the San Antonio Area Foundation.

More findings and ordering information for the 369-page report are available at www.givingusa.org.