FEDERALhearing transcript

Joint Economic Committee Hearing: Supporting Charitable Giving During COVID-19

Original title: SUPPORTING CHARITABLE GIVING DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS

January 1, 2020

charitable giving COVID-19 nonprofits philanthropy economic policy civil society

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing explores the economic stability of the nonprofit sector, which provides essential community services, and examines how federal policy might address declining participation in charitable giving.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Nonprofit organizations

These organizations rely on charitable donations to fund community services and operations.

Individual donors

The hearing addresses trends in individual giving habits and the economic factors influencing participation.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2020.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This document is a transcript of a June 9, 2020, virtual hearing held by the Joint Economic Committee to discuss the role of charitable organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of Congress and expert witnesses examined trends in charitable giving, noting a decline in the percentage of Americans who donate and a shift toward reliance on fewer, wealthier donors.

Key Facts

The hearing took place on June 9, 2020, via WebEx.
The percentage of Americans who donate to charity decreased from 66% in 2000 to 56% in 2014.
The share of total charitable giving coming from individuals dropped from 83% in 1978 to 68% in 2018.
The decline in charitable participation is most pronounced among lower-income Americans.
Charitable giving is increasingly concentrated among fewer, wealthier donors and organizations.
The hearing included testimony from two panels: one featuring U.S. Senators and one featuring nonprofit and academic experts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of this hearing?

To discuss the state of charitable giving in America during the COVID-19 pandemic and address long-term trends showing a decline in the number of individual donors.

Who testified at the hearing?

The hearing featured Senators James Lankford and Jeanne Shaheen, as well as Bill Crim (United Way of Salt Lake) and Dr. Una Osili (Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy).

Why It Matters

News Coverage

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Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Concentration of Philanthropy

The committee identified a significant shift where charitable funding is increasingly coming from a smaller pool of wealthy donors rather than broad-based individual participation.

Joint Economic Committee

Connected Entities

personBill Crim“President and CEO of United Way of Salt Lake”Map →

personDonald Beyer, Jr.“Vice Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and U.S. Representative from Virgi”Map →

organizationJoint Economic Committee“Congressional committee conducting the hearing”Map →

personMike Lee“Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and U.S. Senator from Utah”Map →

personUna Osili“Associate Dean for Research at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philant”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance40
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy10
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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