EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Charitable giving provides a hand up for Broward’s struggling families. Strengthens seniors’ social safety net. Protects our fragile environment. Invests in the arts. Empowers students to achieve. These a re just few examples of the critical role local philanthropy plays to shape a vibrant community and ensure a brighter future for us all. Yet the needs of our fast-growing community outpace Broward’s philanthropic resources. And now our community’s biggest challenges are made more daunting by the far-reaching effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Government and business sector investments will never be enough to solve our biggest challenges. Charitable giving is critical to fueling the solutions we need. So as Broward’s philanthropy experts, the Community Foundation of Broward commissioned this study to:
• Explore Broward’s charitable giving strengths and deficiencies. • Compare the giving of Broward residents to their peers in similar-size communities. • Identify opportunities to strengthen Broward’s philanthropic muscle. The study found that Broward’s charitable donations reported on tax returns during the past decade have been trending up at a time when statewide, the percentage of residents who give is on the decline. Despite that good news, we also learned that Broward’s charitable giving lags behind similar-size communities in Florida and across the country. Broward’s total annual gifts, average individual gift and the percentage of income residents donate are all below levels expected for one of Florida’s wealthiest and mostpopulated counties. Also, the study shows that the greatest concentration of giving comes from a few Fort Lauderdale zip codes. Broward’s middle-income donors give a greater percentage of their earnings than higher-income residents. And between 2016 and 2018, 70% of grants from private foundations that give in our community went to organizations
outside of Broward. That sent $162 million in potential local support elsewhere. These findings point to significant sources of untapped potential support, which could vault Broward’s philanthropic resources to exciting new levels. For example: • By giving at the same percentage as their peers, Broward’s upper-income donors could generate an additional $308 million a year to tackle community needs. • Broward’s total donations could grow to $1.9 billion a year – a $700 million annual boost in critical resources – if all local donors gave at the same level as their Florida peers. Armed with these findings, the Community Foundation of Broward is calling on everyone who loves Broward – residents, civic organizations, local businesses, policymakers, private foundations, and more – to join with us to help overcome Broward’s charitable giving gap. By working together, we can ensure that our community has the resources it needs to be a thriving, welcoming place to call home for generations to come.
Untapped Potential | Growing Philanthropy in Broward
The generosity of Broward County residents makes life better in our community, thanks to more than $1 billion a year in local charitable donations.
1
