"Philanthropy in the First State": A Report on Delaware's Social Safety Net

Today, the Delaware Philanthropy Forum presented a report titled "Philanthropy in the First State: Delaware's Nonprofits, Individual Donors, and Grantmaking Organizations." It's a look at what comprises the social safety net in our state and how we compare to the rest of the nation.

The Delaware Philanthropy Forum is a group of donor leaders from Delaware’s corporate, private foundation and federated business and nonprofit communities. The primary objective of the Forum is to support Delaware's nonprofit sector.

Here are some of the report's findings:

• Delaware's nonprofits are, as a group, financially fragile. More than 35% of Delaware nonprofits operated in the red each year from 2002-2007.
• Delaware is home to 390 private independent foundations, which awarded $333 million in grants in 2007; however, only $60 million of these dollars went to support Delaware-based organizations, and the majority of this came from only 8 foundations.
• Delawareans give to charity at a higher rate than the national average; however, the amount we give is 9% lower than average.
• Corporate giving may provide less support than imagined. Documented corporate giving from Delaware-based entities comprised less than 2% of the state's organized philanthropy in 2007.

These are very interesting stats at a time when more and more people need services and non-profits are having to do more with less. You can find a copy of the full report here for more details on these findings.