ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Charitable fund raising across North America remained strong in 2001 despite the challenges of Sept. 11 and a slowing economy, according to a survey released by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
The survey, "The State of Fundraising 2001," asked charities to compare their fund-raising totals at the end of December 2001 to the amount raised by the end of 2000. Nearly 60 percent indicated they raised more money in 2001 than in 2000; 10 percent raised the same amount. More than 15 percent of respondents reported raising at least 30 percent more funds in 2001.
Fund-raising increases were seen in nearly all subsectors of the charitable sector, especially among social service and religious organizations, and in all organizations regardless of size or budget. Increases also were seen across the board in various fund-raising techniques, with major gifts and Internet/online contributions experiencing significant percentage increases.
The only exception to the increases was environmental organization fund raising, although AFT didn't receive enough responses from those groups to have a statistically valid sample.
The survey results correspond to statistics from an earlier Sept. 11 survey AFP conducted in October 2001. At that time, 56 percent of respondents indicated they were raising the same or more money than in October 2000.
