The 2019 Connecticut Giving Report

The Connecticut Giving Report aims to provide a snapshot of philanthropic giving in the state: How much was given? Who gave? What issues were supported? Like last year, we explored some new questions, too: Is the decline in the number of charitable givers in the state outpacing the decline in Connecticut’s population? What percentage of foundation dollars do the top fundraising nonprofits take in? If we unpack foundation giving focused on education, where are the dollars being invested?

The takeaways from this year’s report deliver contrasting messages. Foundation giving continued to grow, but just 35% supported Connecticut nonprofits. Individual giving fell, but the percentage of individuals giving increased. Connecticut nonprofits attracted over $400 million from out-of-state foundations, yet the majority of that funding went to a small number of nonprofits.

While we believe there is value in this analysis, we know that more has happened recently that will impact the philanthropic community and the organizations it supports: the federal and state governments have reduced their support for human service programs; changes to the federal tax code resulted in stagnated individual giving in 2018; a new public-private venture, Partnership for Connecticut, will inject new philanthropic support to nonprofits working to improve education; and the philanthropic sector is receiving increased attention and scrutiny.

Given the current environment, CCP will continue its work to better understand the philanthropic landscape in Connecticut – the challenges it faces and the opportunities for making more impact.

We hope this report helps catalyze conversations and inform charitable giving. We welcome your questions and your input as we continually work to improve our data, analysis, and resource development.