--- title: "Charitable Giving in 2013 Had Highest Growth Since Great Recession" id: "21664" type: "post" slug: "charitable-giving-in-2013-had-highest-growth-since-great-recession" published_at: "2014-02-11T21:17:12+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T03:37:51+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/02/11/charitable-giving-in-2013-had-highest-growth-since-great-recession/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/02/11/charitable-giving-in-2013-had-highest-growth-since-great-recession.md" excerpt: "A new report by Blackbaud reveals last year’s fundraising trends and totals among nonprofit organizations. It was an up year, with giving increasing overall almost 5 percent." taxonomy_category: - "Fundraising" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "donation" - "Fundraising" - "nonprofit" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Charitable Giving in 2013 Had Highest Growth Since Great Recession > The combination of growth across organizations of all sizes and a reversal of negative trends by all sectors contributed to a positive year. Charitable giving in 2013 saw the largest year-over-year increase since the Great Recession, according to Blackbaud’s latest “[Charitable Giving Report (opens in a new tab)](https://www.blackbaud.com/nonprofit-resources/charitablegiving?utm_source=blackbaud&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=CGR2014&utm_content=homepage#.UvU8dPuQkis) .” Overall, giving in 2013 increased by 4.9 percent from 2012 and represented $12.5 billion in fundraising. “2013 really showed that the fundraising environment is continuing to improve for the vast majority of organizations,” Steve MacLaughlin, coauthor of the report and director of Blackbaud’s Idea Lab, [said in a statement (opens in a new tab)](http://www.blackbaudnews.com/press-release/charitable-giving-experiences-biggest-boost-since-great-recession.htm) . “The combination of growth across organizations of all sizes and a reversal of negative trends by all sectors contributed to a positive year.” Broken down by organizational size, charitable giving grew by - **5.7 percent**within large organizations, those with annual fundraising of more than $10 million - **3.8 percent** within medium organizations, those with between $1 million and $10 million in annual fundraising - **3.6 percent** at small organizations, those with less than $1 million in annual fundraising. Blackbaud tracked fundraising data from 4,129 nonprofit organizations throughout the year, grouping them into nine sectors: arts and culture, education, environment and animal welfare, faith-based, healthcare, human services, international affairs, medical research, and public and society benefit. International affairs organizations had the highest year-over-year growth in fundraising with 13.2 percent. Overall online giving was also up. It grew by 13.5 percent compared to 2012 and accounted for 6.4 percent of all charitable giving in 2013. Donations during [#Giving Tuesday](http://associationsnow.com/2013/12/givingtuesdays-growing-reputation-leads-to-surge-in-donations/) —the online charitable giving campaign that falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving—were up 90 percent in 2013 compared to 2012. “Online fundraising continues to be a growth engine for nonprofit organizations, and there is no reason to expect this growth to slow for the foreseeable future,” the report noted. A consistent trend over the last several years is the concentration of giving in the last quarter of the year. The report noted that more than one-third of overall charitable giving happens in the last three months of the year, with most happening in December. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Katie Bascuas](https://associationsnow.com/author/katie-bascuas/) Katie Bascuas is a former associate editor at Associations Now in Washington, DC. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/katie-bascuas/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#donation](https://associationsnow.com/tag/donation/) [#Fundraising](https://associationsnow.com/tag/fundraising/) [#nonprofit](https://associationsnow.com/tag/nonprofit/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [Video2025 Summit Award Recipient: Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Los AngelesOctober 3, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/10/03/2025-summit-award-recipient-building-owners-and-managers-association-of-greater-los-angeles/) - [VideoWhy Give to the ASAE Research FoundationDecember 2, 2019](https://associationsnow.com/2019/12/02/why-give-to-the-asae-research-foundation/) - [VideoJeff De Cagna ASAE Research Foundation Giving Tuesday ChallengeNovember 26, 2019](https://associationsnow.com/2019/11/26/jeff-de-cagna-asae-research-foundation-giving-tuesday-challenge/) - [ArticleHow to Strengthen and Sustain Your Nonprofit in a Changing WorldDecember 22, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/22/how-to-strengthen-and-sustain-your-nonprofit-in-a-changing-world/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F02%2F11%2Fcharitable-giving-in-2013-had-highest-growth-since-great-recession%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !