It’s the giving time of year, but will the checks to charities be a little smaller this year?
A 2008 examination of the Giving USA report on charitable donations by the Giving USA Foundation, a research and education organization for philanthropy, found that giving slows slightly during recessions.
In the five recessions since the one from 1973 to 1975, giving fell an average of 1.3%, adjusted for inflation.
In nonrecession years, from 1966 through 2006, giving rose an average of 4.3%.
Source: Giving USA Foundation, www.givingusa.org.