Broward County’s generous residents provide more than $1 billion a year in charitable donations, yet our community still has untapped resources that could meet growing needs.
These are the findings of a new philanthropy study conducted by the Community Foundation of Broward. As Broward’s philanthropy experts, the Community Foundation launched this evaluation to explore Broward’s charitable giving strengths and deficiencies, compare Broward’s giving to similarly sized communities and identify opportunities to grow philanthropy in Broward.
On May 27, the Community Foundation unveiled the study’s key findings at our latest ‘Food for Thought’ – get-togethers where our Fundholders, Legacy Society members and professional advisors can learn more about Broward’s big issues and the work of the Foundation. We have been holding our Food for Thought events online to stay safe during the pandemic.
This Food for Thought provided an exclusive first look at the philanthropy study, which revealed that:
- Nearly 80% of Broward’s giving comes from individuals, far outpacing giving from corporations and other sources.
- About 65% of Broward’s annual giving comes from those making $200,000 a year.
- The greatest concentration of giving comes from just three Fort Lauderdale zip codes (33301, 33308 and 33316).
- Broward’s middle-income donors give a greater percentage of their earnings (4.2%) than higher-income donors (2.3%).
- Broward’s giving lags behind similarly sized communities in Florida and across the country.
Food for Thought attendees also learned that Broward has significant sources of untapped potential support, which could vault this community’s philanthropic resources to exciting new levels. For example:
- Broward could generate an additional $308 million a year to meet community needs if upper-income donors gave at the same percentage of income (3.3%) as their peers in other metro areas.
- Broward’s total donations could grow to $1.9 billion a year – a $700 million annual boost in philanthropic resources – if all local donors gave at the same level as their Florida peers.
The “eye-opening” findings show new opportunities for local philanthropy to play an even greater role in shaping our community, Community Foundation Board Chair James Donnelly said.
“There’s a lot of opportunity in our community,” said James, who is also a Fundholder at the Community Foundation. “Many of our neighbors have the capacity to give but haven’t yet. Why? And how can the Community Foundation help untap some of that potential?”
The Community Foundation will soon release digital and printed copies of the complete philanthropy study, entitled: “Untapped Potential: Growing Philanthropy in Broward.”
In addition, Community Foundation representatives will be presenting the study’s findings to community groups, policymakers and local nonprofits all across Broward to raise awareness and build collaborations that help tap into our community’s true giving potential.
At the Community Foundation, we will use what we learned in the study to create more opportunities for our Fundholders and Legacy Society members to make an even greater impact with their philanthropy.
This is an “aspirational” report that shows Broward has the ability to generate more resources to take on growing challenges, said Community Foundation President/CEO Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D.
“There’s tremendous, tremendous potential,” Jennifer said. “Giving can be done in small and large ways. … We have to build that culture. We have to develop that propensity to give.”
To learn more about how the Community Foundation of Broward can help you create a BOLD impact with your charitable giving, contact Vice President of Philanthropic Services Nancy Thies at nthies@cfbroward.org or 954-761-9503.
