There are many projections that the growth in wealth will lead to a potential extraordinary growth in private giving. To date, these projections have not materialized in relation to the growth in wealth. Private giving was 1.8 percent of personal income in 1999, still below the 2.0 percent high of personal income in 1969. Projections of wealth by Schervish and Havens (2000) that will be passed on to future generations from 1998 to 2044 range from $41 to $136 trillion. They estimate that giving by bequests could be $6 trillion or 15 percent of the low estimate of wealth transfer of $41 trillion.18 To date, there is no discernable upward trend in bequest giving as a proportion of total wealth left at death. About 17 percent of gross estates of $600,000 or more have charitable bequests ranging from 8 percent of the gross estate in 1994 to 6.2 percent in 1998, according to statistics from the Internal Revenue Service (2000). The total value of bequests in 1998 was $10.9 billion in 1998, down from $14.3 billion in 1997. Current reports of bequests have been flat for over a decade indicating that the transfer of wealth is probably not going to charitable causes, although the potential is there. Furthermore, if the push to eliminate estate taxes should succeed, estimates are that bequest giving to charities could drop by over 40 percent, since most bequests come from estates which are taxable.19
While many observers argue that the U.S. is in a civic decline, most agree that the exception to declines in voting and association membership is the long-term growth in volunteering. The growth in volunteering is greatest among older people and younger people. Some argue that this growth may lead to a new Progressive era in the twenty-first century.20
New Trends in Philanthropy
With the growth of new wealth, new ways of giving have emerged from planned giving to e-philanthropy. Most notable is that many new donors want to control and be involved in their giving. This new form of giving is called venture philanthropy where donors build venture funds much as they would invest in business, yet use these funds to invest in nonprofit organizations. Among the most notable are Social Venture Partners founded by Paul Brainerd in Seattle, and the Marino Institute in Reston, Virginia founded by Mario Marino. These donors have emerged from the new economy, are younger, and want to find ways of measuring real change. So they set up funds where individuals can contribute their donations, and then decide together what causes and organizations they will support. While there are no figures available for the size of this philanthropy, this new model is catching on. These groups also focus on measurable outcomes, much as they would on a business plan. One large foundation founded by Pierre and Tamela Omidyar, the former founders and owners of E-Bay will be dedicated to this type of philanthropy.21
E-philanthropy is the process of giving on-line. While only one percent of respondents reported giving on line in the 1999 Independent Survey of Giving and Volunteering, there are several organizations and charities that offer opportunities for people to give on-line. The Red Cross has been successful with giving on-line when it calls for emergency funding. Helping.org, created by the AOL Foundation is looking into creating a portal for on-line giving. The current problem is the ability for charities to maintain privacy for their donors. Such systems are very expensive and usually in the hands of financial institutions that allow trading, investing, and banking on line. However, it is expected that e-philanthropy will grow in the decade ahead accommodating to the habits of the younger generation of donors. Mutual funds companies, such as Schwab and Fidelity, have been more successful by allowing donors to contribute to mutual funds that are donor advised. To date, the law is not totally clear about donor advised funds; however, these new funds have provided opportunities for younger affluent individuals to get involved in giving
