Rocco Basile

It is interesting to note that 2010 did not bring much giving, and even though there are 50 plus billionaires who announced that they would give at least half of their wealth to charitylast year (2010) , very few of them made large gifts. In fact, only 17 of the people on The Chronicle's annual list of the 50 most-generous donors appeared on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 wealthiest Americans too. The Chronicle's list of 54 donors committed a total of $3.3- billion, the smallest sum since The Chronicle began to track the biggest donors in the year 2000. The measurement is the cumulative total that each individual gives to charitable causes as opposed to the biggest donations. Nine people on the list committed more than $100-million in 2010, compared with 16 in 2007.  Back in 2006 the number was 18.  When one looks at the median gift -it was $39.6-million, and that's down from about $41.4-million in the year 2009,  and for 2008, $69.3-million whereas in 2007 it  was 74 .4-million.

In the non-preofit world, nonprofit officials and donors alike believed fears of the economy sliding back into another recession had an impact on giving, however, with the federal estate tax and deduction limits resolved, and more positive outlooks for the economy, it could be much better in 2011.

--Rocco Basile