Donations Drop 11 Percent in 2009

Charitable donations dropped 11 percent in 2009, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy—the largest drop since they started measuring donations two decades ago. The 11 percent decrease was almost four times as great as the next biggest decrease, which was 2.8 percent in 2001. The 400 institutions surveyed raised $68.6 billion in 2009. Groups that were especially hard hit: Food for the Poor, whose contributions fell 27 percent; and the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, which lost 40.3 percent of contributions.