Giving Big

Whether Mainers leave money to a charity in their will, donate through payroll deductions at work, sport a special license plate, or put cash into the red bucket over the holidays, there are plenty of opportunities to give.

Some Mainers are in a different category than most of the rest of us: They have resources so significant that they must either give some away or hand them over to Uncle Sam. While major philanthropy certainly can’t be reduced simply to tax avoidance, the life of a serious donor is more complex than most of us realize. Even the talented wealth-accumulator Andrew Carnegie at one point in his life “resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.”

Giving on all levels is something worth understanding and appreciating. As the tax year winds down and the month of counting one’s blessings is upon us, it’s good to get a benchmark on how we’re doing in the giving department. Here are seven major trends, based on the facts presented in Giving in Maine: A Report on Philanthropy 2008, published by the Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Philanthropy Center.

1. Individuals give 80% of all charitable gifts in Maine.

While some nonprofits may dream of a deep-pocketed corporate donor, the fact is that individuals are Maine’s biggest givers. While an organization’s philosophy is important, donors at all levels will often choose to give to an organization they’re connected to personally.

“My family’s contribution to a local land trust has as much to do with the fact that my daughter participates in their after-school junior naturalist program as it does with any personal commitment I might have to land conservation,” says Garrett Martin, director of program strategies for the Maine Community Foundation.

Books are obviously close to the hearts of novelists Stephen and Tabitha King, who give through the Bangor-based foundation that bears their name. “We work mostly with area libraries because they need all the help they can get,” Stephen King says.

Allen and Sally Fernald of Camden also donate to causes that are close to them. Their love of arts spurred involvement with the Farnsworth Museum and their commitment to community brought them to donate to the Camden YMCA, among others. But the University of Maine holds a special place in their hearts. That’s where they met, at a freshman dance, over 50 years ago.

The Fernalds were in the news last year for donating $1 million to their alma mater and cochairing the university’s Campaign Maine, which seeks to raise $150 million by 2011.

“The University continues to be a fascinating place for me. Every time I go there I learn something new. As the “Maine Stein Song” goes, ‘the college of our hearts always,’” Fernald says.

2. Maine giving is ahead in some areas, behind in others.

In 2005, $482 million of charitable giving was deducted from the tax returns of more than 165,000 Maine households. While that’s an increase of $94 million over the amount deducted in 2001, it’s still less than the national average.

However, only one in four Maine households itemizes its tax return so those figures could actually be much higher. Others contend that Mainers do, in fact, dig into their pockets less than those living in other states, and attribute this to a combination of high energy costs, low wages, and even a below-average instance of regular church attendance.

Explanations aside, Allen Fernald says, “Maine as a state, philanthropically, is not equivalent to other states in the nation,” he says. “We’re not giving what we should.” But, he says, things are definitely improving. According to Giving in Maine: A Report on Philanthropy 2008, individual giving has multiplied more than sevenfold in 22 years (from $67 million to $482 million). In the last five years both total giving and average giving have increased by 25%.

3. The number of charitable assets in Maine is growing faster than ever.

The charitable assets under the stewardship of Maine foundations have nearly doubled in the last five years from $800 million to $1.5 billion. The growth rate of 92% is far above the national growth rate of 74%. In 2007, for instance, the number of endowments managed by Healthcare Charities grew by nearly 100 in a single year.

“Our economic disadvantages as a state reinforce the Yankee tenacity and tradition of making due with less,” says Michael Crowley, president of Healthcare Charities. “We are resourceful and take pride in taking care of one another.”

In the past 18 years, the assets of the University of Maine Foundation have increased from $28 million to over $185 million, according to Amos Orcutt, the president and CEO of the foundation.

“Even small gifts given to UMaine in support of its educational programs and its students have a recognizable impact,” Orcutt says. “In many cases, students who come to the University of Maine are the first in their family to attend university. Private support through scholarships and other forms of financial aid allow these young people to attain an affordable education.”

4. Mainers know you can’t take it with you.

Maine tops the national average when it comes to charitable bequests—contributions made through a will or a trust. Twenty-seven percent of Maine estates over $1.5 million settled in 2005 included a charitable bequest, versus 20% nationally.

Such bequests can have a huge impact. “With the recent passing of Harold Alfond and Elmina B. Sewall, there will be larger grants to focus on critical issues in Maine that we haven’t had before,” says Janet Henry, president of the Maine Philanthropy Center. “This money will help jumpstart some projects that wouldn’t otherwise happen.”

By the year 2055 some $41 trillion will change hands as baby boomers nationwide pass their assets on to the next generation in what will be the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in American history, according to a study conducted at Boston College.

“The level of activity we have seen has had a ripple effect in the state. More wealthy people are now thinking about what they can support with their money besides leaving it all to their families when they die,” says Hank Schmelzer, president of the Maine Community Foundation.

In the future, those charitable bequests will have a significant bearing on the future of philanthropy in Maine. In the meantime, many Mainers who worked hard all their lives are now enjoying the privilege of being able to donate some of the money they’ve earned and grown.

“At our stage in life you can’t take it with you, so why not have some fun with it while we’re still here?” Allen Fernald says.

5. Philanthropy in Maine is a relatively young enterprise.

Another encouraging sign: Maine is new at big-time philanthropy. Ten of the top 20 largest foundations in Maine came into existence in the 1980s, and seven of them were established from 1990 on.

“Philanthropy has really taken off in the last 15 years because more people are working towards advocacy,” says Schmelzer, who will retire from Maine Community Foundation at this end of this year. “Before 1983 there were only two foundations in the state and both of those were set up in the 1950s,” he says. Fast forward to 2005, where there were 289 foundations that awarded $91 million in grant money.

This isn’t to say that Mainers, historically, have not been giving. Baxter State Park would not be accessible to the 55,000 annual visitors had Percival Baxter not carefully acquired the land surrounding Mt. Katahdin over many years and given the state 6,000 acres of “forever wild” land back in 1931. EMMC wouldn’t be what it is today if a group of five local doctors hadn’t pooled their resources and talent to open Bangor General Hospital in 1892.

6. Mainers are committed to helping each other.

Maine gives more grants in the fields of the environment, health, and social and human services than the national averages. These categories reflect the interest and needs of the citizens of our state.

“There isn’t one service in the Eastern Maine Healthcare System that hasn’t been affected by someone’s generosity,” says Michael Crowley.

While Crowley’s organization, Healthcare Charities, welcomes and facilitates larger gifts such as endowments and bequests, they also sponsor events and drives where givers of all means can participate, like Children’s Miracle Network events. “We value the $1 gift as much as the $100 gift,” he says.

In tough economic times, the needs targeted by donors often become more practical. “More and more people need help with basics, such as food and fuel. So we tend to look toward food banks and the community services that try to make sure people aren’t trying to raise families in cold houses,” Stephen King says. “It’s pretty simple, really. Give money where it will do the most good, and to people who are honestly trying to improve the communities they live in.”

7. Everyone who wants to help can—even without money.

“For everyone who wants to help there is a way for them to do so,” says Crowley. “If an individual wants to give back to the community and work with health care, we can sit down with them and create a plan that meets their desire.”

Even the man who helped grow the Maine Community Foundation from $78 to over $250 million in assets, with 9/11 in the middle of his tenure, Hank Schmelzer, knows there is one thing that money can’t buy: great volunteers. “For the average family in Maine, working as a volunteer is every bit as philanthropic as donating millions of dollars,” Schmelzer says. “People should feel comfortable and proud to do what they can.”