Despite a shrinking donor base and rising costs, charities still play an important role in supporting non-profits and advocacy across the state. The Pennies for Charity report, released by the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau ahead of Giving Tuesday, reviewed the data and outlined some developments in philanthropy in 2023 in New York’s charitable giving landscape.

In 2023, nearly 1.4 million people in the state claimed over $40 billion in charitable deductions. The report—available at the bottom of this story—aims to help donors like them make informed decisions in New York’s charitable giving landscape.

“New York has one of the strongest charity oversight bureaus in the country. Its annual Pennies For Charity report is extremely helpful because it exposes just how expensive this form of fundraising can often be,” said Laurie Styron, the CEO and Executive Director of CharityWatch, regarding New York’s charitable giving landscape. “When people receive fundraising calls or letters, they may assume it is a charity employee or volunteer on the other end who is a true believer in the cause. In most cases, these are actually for-profit professional fundraising companies that are paid on commission or retainer to raise as much money from you as possible because they take a steep cut of whatever you give.”

While total donations increased by 1.9% compared to 2022, charitable giving couldn’t outrun inflation in New York’s charitable giving landscape. The drop in individual giving represents an ongoing concern, especially for small businesses that rely on small, individual donations to make their annual budgets of under $500,000.

Still, professional fundraisers in New York collected almost $1.5 billion in 2023, with charities receiving about $1.2 billion of that. That’s a slight improvement compared with 2022, with nine more campaigns and $5.8 million more in revenue for New York’s charitable giving landscape.

But the fundraisers kept about $261 million, or 17%, of the money in 2023. In some campaigns, their take—meant to cover costs and fees—was more than half of the total raised. And in 46% of all campaigns in New York’s charitable giving landscape in 2023, charities received less than half of the money raised. In 16%, expenses exceeded revenue, costing those charities $26 million altogether.

Read the full article about charitable giving in New York by Johan Sheridan at NEWS10 ABC.