Pilanthropy picking up?

I won four private foundation grants totaling $158,000 in the last eight months for three different clients. Looks like grantmaking is picking up as Wall Street picks up and foundation endowments again gain strength. Direct mail returns for my clients at year-end also picked up by 10-15% year over year. This year is looking more robust for philanthropy.

It's only anecdotal evidence, but the other grant writers and fundraising consultants I've talked to report better returns in the last six to eight months too. Statistics bear out the recovery of charitable giving that began in 2010 and continued in 2011, as The Philanthropist reported last year, based on Blackbaud's survey of more than 1,400 nonprofit institutions.

It's encouraging to see evidence of this in my own corner, and to pass along more hopeful estimates to my clients. Let's keep our fingers crossed that, along with other hopeful signs in the economy, this trend continues in 2012.