New Charitable Giving Data Empowers Charities and Churches

July 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Information may indeed be power, but timing is still everything. With a recent breakthrough, U.S. nonprofits now have a powerful real-time tool for increasing their income and efficiency.

The introduction of PhilanthroDEX™, an online product of Philanthromax, LLC is changing the way charities and churches approach fundraising and financial management.

“After decades of working in the nonprofit sector, we saw a need to provide accurate and timely information for nonprofits trying to budget, fundraise and benchmark performance,” said Rob Mitchell, CEO of Philanthromax and the former President of the American Cancer Society Foundation and Chief Development Officer for the American Cancer Society, Inc. “For the first time, nonprofits have access to accurate real-time giving information, a reliable forecast, and specific analysis about how current events are impacting giving in the United States.  This is vital information for any organization that relies on charitable giving for a portion of its income.”

PhilanthroDEX reports that charitable giving surged in the first half of this year to a total of $159.63 billion – an increase of 8.3% over the same period in 2009 - but is now slowing and is expected to decline in the fourth quarter.  The rate of increase in giving slowed in May and June and is expected to turn negative in the last quarter of 2010. PhilanthroDEX currently forecasts 2010 philanthropic giving will reach $315.9 billion by year-end, an increase of 4% percent over 2009.

PhilanthroDEX reports total U.S. giving by individuals, foundations and corporations monthly.  PhilanthroDEX also reports total year to date giving, giving for the quarter, last six months and last twelve months with comparisons to the same periods the previous year.  Prior to PhilanthroDEX, charities only had access to annual giving data published months after the fact.

“Until now, charities and churches have operated at a distinct disadvantage,” Mitchell continued. “Data on total giving results and trends was coming too late to be of any significant value.”

But timely reporting on giving isn’t all PhilanthroDEX does. Most users are focused on the new product’s forecasting component.

“The ability to time promotions around future increases and dips in giving is something completely new to the nonprofit world,” Mitchell says. “It isn’t hard to imagine what this will do to help charities boost income and control fundraising costs.”

The utility of PhilanthroDEX is broad. In addition to the product’s applications for budgeting, benchmarking and timing, it gives charities and churches a long wished for means of knowing what to expect when the unexpected occurs.   In June, PhilanthroDEX was able to calculate the charitable giving impact of the BP Oil Leak for 2010 and 2011and suggest that nonprofits have the data they need to seek compensation from BP. This month, PhilanthroDEX provides a preliminary analysis of the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett billionaire challenge and June’s plummet in consumer confidence

“The fact that PhilanthroDEX correlates at over 99.5% with four decades of published giving and economic activity is extremely significant,” said Mitchell. “It means that the impact of fluctuations in the economy and world events on philanthropy can be reliably determined almost instantly. This information is critical to the nonprofit decision-maker.”
PhilanthroDEX was created by a team of 25 PhD mathematicians, analysts, and statisticians who evaluated more than 50 possible variables over an extended period of years to establish the groundbreaking model. Unlike recently announced indexes and forecasts which rely on limited sampling or modeling which correlates only with recent giving figures, the PhilanthroDEX model is based on over 40 years of published giving and economic data.
Those on the cutting edge of nonprofit management have been quick to embrace what the new technology represents.
“What PhilanthroDEX has accomplished in terms of providing charitable giving data to charities in real time represents a major innovation,” said Stephen Nill, Founder and CEO of CharityChannel.com, an online resource for nonprofit professionals with over 30,000 members. “PhilanthroDEX is a game-changer for nonprofits, not just in dealing with unexpected events like the BP oil spill, but in terms of day to day management of operations related to gift income.”


PhilanthroDEX (pat. pending) is a membership-based product combining an accurate charitable giving forecast with a report of monthly, quarterly, and annual aggregate charitable giving. Each month it provides real-time reports that take the guesswork out of budgeting and monitoring performance. PhilanthroDEX provides current data and forecasts that are vital to the effective and efficient operation of any organization that relies on charitable giving for its success. For more information, visit www.philanthroDEX.com.

Philanthromax LLC designs and provides innovative technology and business solutions that maximize the revenue, reputation, and effectiveness of America’s nonprofits. Philanthromax delivers one-of-a-kind solutions that provide organizations with effective, accountable and successful fundraising and giving outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.philanthromax.com/ .


Contacts:
Product inquiries:
Hank Zachry
Philanthromax
877-414-0078
hank@philanthromax.com

Media inquiries:
Paul Maynard
PE Maynard & Associates
817-891-1167
paul@paulemaynard.com

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The mission of PhilanthromaxTM is to improve the revenue, reputation, and effectiveness of America's elite charities and philanthropic companies.