UW #1 in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s first-ever ranking of Global Charities

Congratulations are in order. United Way is on the top of our sector’s resource development lists despite the challenges we faced this year. We were named #1 in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s first-ever ranking of global charities, with a total of $5.26 billion raised worldwide. And with $3.97 billion raised in the USA in current year support (campaign results plus mission-related contributions beyond the campaign), we expect to be at the top of the Chronicle’s Top 400 list of America’s charities once again when that list is published next month.

I’m proud that we stayed the course and kept our focus on advancing the common good and improving lives both today and for the future. We mobilized billions of dollars and millions of volunteers to address both urgent needs and long-term changes at a pivotal time in our nation’s history.

It was, however, a very tough year for resource development – the worst since Giving USA began generating estimates in 1955. Giving to philanthropy overall declined -2.0% in current dollars (-5.7% in inflation-adjusted dollars) in 2008. Giving to human services went down even more dramatically, by -12.7%. According to the Database 2 survey, United Way’s performance as a system was in keeping with the overall economic climate and outperformed the human services category; Current Year Support ($3.97 billion) declined -5.2% and campaign revenue ($3.57 billion) experienced a -4.5% decline.


Date Added: Wednesday, 30th September 2009