Not buyin' it

From the Freakonomics blog:

According to this Reuters article, charitable contributions are down in the U.S. only “modestly” so far this year. But charitable giving, unlike the stock market, is a lagging indicator.

"That's funny", I thought. Because, from my perspective, charitable contributions have seriously decreased since September. If you actually read the Reuters article mentioned above, it becomes clear that the bulk of charitable funds available for non-profits is for programs in the US only. Which is fine, and it makes sense: hard times call for more solidarity with your compadres.

Not surprisingly, though, organizations doing work in the developing world are taking a hit - funds pledged are drawn out over longer periods of time, or have been retracted. In other cases, donors simply choose to divert their support towards domestic causes, or give a smaller proportion of their charitable contributions for foreign based programs. And, since I work for organizations doing work outside the US, I'm witnessing first hand the effects of this drop in funding: programs being cut, postponed, canceled.

It's too bad, as a lot of work being done in poverty alleviation outside the US was reaping results - and, as these tough economic times are also affecting developing countries, support for vulnerable people and poverty reduction initiatives (broadly speaking) are ever more necessary.

(I'm curious to see statistics about charitable giving a year from now - the real plunge in funding began around September, and, as the article notes, there is a lag.)



On an unrelated note, this really struck a chord with me: we have a "macromyopia" problem.