Generosity Commission Releases Report

On September 17^th, The Generosity Commission released its report, Everyday Actions, Extraordinary Potential: The Power of Giving and Volunteering. The Commission was launched in 2021 in response to one of the most significant trends reshaping civil society in the United States over the last several decades: the decline, observable across multiple surveys, in the proportion of Americans who give to and volunteer with charitable organizations.

The report details commissioned research, expert testimony from scholars and practitioners, and conversations with everyday people. It offers an important snapshot of giving and volunteering with charities today and proposes a set of recommendations to address declines in giving and volunteering rates. Recommendations in the report include ideas for how fundraisers, funders, and business leaders can better promote giving and volunteering.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Art Taylor, served as Co-chair of The Generosity Commission’s Policy and Government Relations Taskforce. BBB WGA encourages charity leaders and donors to read the report and explore their role in furthering giving and volunteering.

The Generosity Commission report includes nine recommendations to help increase giving and volunteering:

1. 1. 1. Increase the depth and breadth of data on giving and volunteering
   2. 2. Close the generosity evidence-to-practice gap
   3. 3. Encourage public figures and leaders to speak openly about how they give and volunteer
   4. 4. Take youth seriously as givers and volunteers
   5. 5. Utilize all of philanthropy’s resources in support of everyday giving and volunteering
   6. 6. Support community foundations to take a leading role in encouraging giving and volunteering
   7. 7. Reinforce the leading role of businesses, as conveners of employees, to encourage their volunteerism and giving
   8. 8. Increase the availability of the charitable contribution tax deduction
   9. 9. Sufficiently fund the IRS Exempt Organizations division and state charity regulators and simplify regulatory compliance

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features a discussion with Yuriy Boyechko, Founder and CEO, Hope for Ukraine (a BBB Accredited Charity) which provides food, medical attention, shelter, and education to individuals and families in the poorest communities in Ukraine.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• Society of St. Andrew
• FUSION 
• ACT Now Education 

Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.