Who We Are
The Giving Institute consists of member organizations that have embraced and embodied the core values of ethics, excellence, and leadership in advancing philanthropy. Serving clients of every size and purpose, from local institutions to international organizations, The Giving Institute member organizations embrace the highest ethical standards and maintain a strict code of fair practices. The Giving Institute is also the parent organization of the Giving USA Foundation™, which endeavors to advance philanthropy through research and education and produces the annual report on charitable giving in the United States, Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy.
Mission
To actively champion thought leadership that empowers generosity.
vision
To develop extraordinary leaders dedicated to stimulating and amplifying generosity.
Values statement
The Giving Institute is committed to:
- Community – bringing people together to create greater influence, more opportunities, deeper knowledge, and lasting impact
- Excellence – holding ourselves and the community of generosity to the highest standards of ethical practices
- Diversity and Inclusion – fostering a diverse, equitable, inclusionary, and generous community
About the Giving USA Foundation
In 1985, three Association leaders, Arthur D. Raybin, John Grenzebach and Charles E. Lawson, incorporated the Giving USA Foundation, formerly the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, to carry out and expand a number of the public service goals of the Association.
Today the Foundation publishes Giving USA, the annual report on American philanthropy, and supports research and education. Giving Institute members provide financial support, expertise and leadership to the Foundation in support of its mission to create a world where accurate data and objective analyses advance our understanding of philanthropy to inspire generosity by all and for all.
Supporters of Giving USA Foundation™ receive recognition for their contributions, from ads within the Giving USA publication itself to recognition on the Giving USA store website.
View all Giving USA Foundation™ levels of support and benefits.
Help fund the research that fuels philanthropy in the United States.
The Generosity Commission
The Generosity Commission is a nonpartisan group of leaders from across the charitable sector committed to celebrating and supporting Americans’ spirit of generosity as expressed through everyday giving, volunteering, and other forms of civic engagement. Launched in October 2021, it is an independent project of Giving USA Foundation™, whose mission is to advance research, education, and public understanding of philanthropy.
Through research and conversations online and in person, the Generosity Commission will contribute to national understanding about how individual givers and volunteers are reimagining generosity in powerful and positive ways, strengthening our society and democracy in the process.
The Generosity Commission concluded its work in Fall 2024 with recommendations based on its findings. These recommendations will focus on ways that the business, nonprofit, and policy sectors can support and enable everyday giving and volunteering. Ultimately, the Generosity Commission seeks to foster a culture of individual and collective generosity in the face of the social and economic challenges our society faces today.
For more information, visit the website:
History
Established in 1935 as the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel, The Giving Institute was initially comprised of eight elite firms with a mission to enhance professionalism and establish high standards in the largely unregulated field of professional fundraising.
Beyond fundraising, The Giving Institute expanded its commitment to promoting philanthropy. In 1955, it published Giving USA as a public service. In 1985, the Giving USA Foundation™ (formerly the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy) was incorporated to further public service goals. The Foundation produces the annual report on American philanthropy, Giving USA, and supports research and education.
Today, The Giving Institute continues to lead in ethics and philanthropy, fostering positive change through its member organizations
The Giving Institute has played a pivotal role in shaping fundraising practices in America, including:
- the development of widely accepted standards of professional conduct,
- supported the startup of the United Way,
- collaborated with New York’s legislature to enact the Charity Registration Act, serving as a nationwide model; and
- member firms have raised billions of dollars for charitable organizations.
Strategic Plan
The 5-year Strategic Plan of the Giving Institute and Giving USA Foundation was created, vetted and approved by volunteer leaders of both organizations over the course of 2020 and 2021 and was based, in significant part, on a comprehensive membership survey completed in October 2020.
The strategic context, the assumptions for the future, and the key strategic elements have been constructed with the aim to make philanthropy stronger and more robust in challenging times.
The three goals of the plan include:
1
Sector Leadership and Brand Positioning
The Giving Institute will increasingly be recognized as a key association of for-profit providers who serve the nonprofit sector by equipping fundraising professionals and by convening those who are committed to elevating generosity.
2
Membership Growth and Retention
Enrich member value, experience, and engagement
The Giving Institute will grow to 70 members representing diverse perspectives over the next three years with an industry-exceeding retention rate of at least 90% in order to generate the resources for change. The Institute will create educational programs that cover industry trends as well as topics identified as being most valued to building individual member organization strength.
3
Strengthen capacity of member firms to be successful
Provide
professional development and leadership opportunities to foster growth in
individual participants
Our Commitment to the Broadest Traditions of Generosity
The Giving Institute and The Giving USA Foundation exist to grow generosity, which is at the heart of what it means to be human.
We respect that generosity is informed by long-held traditions reaching across countries, faiths, and cultures, and understand that new vital forms continue to evolve around us. We seek to always take the broad view, respecting each other as individuals with unique lived experiences, while also cherishing what brings us together in community.
In practice, we advance the broad range of human generosity through:
- The varied composition of our membership base to include organizations of all sizes and providing multiple types of services to nonprofits.
- The breadth and openness of our conversations, convenings and decisions
- How we operate and invest our resources
- The research we do
In practice, we advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the broad range of human generosity through:
- The diverse composition of our membership base
- The breadth and inclusiveness of our conversations, convenings and decisions
- How we operate and invest our resources
- The research we do
The Ethical Principles of The Giving Institute Updated 2022
The Giving Institute is guided by our values of Community, Excellence and Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do. The Ethical Principles of the Giving Institute, to which all members have pledged to adhere, are oriented towards Living Our Values in our work with clients, leadership in the sector, and collaboration with other member firms. Download the full PDF or continue reading to learn more.
COMMUNITY | Bringing people together to create greater influence, more opportunities, deeper knowledge, and lasting impact.
- Client’s Mission: Members pledge to respect and advance the mission and values of each client organization and provide only those services that will further the mission of each client.
- Collaboration: Members seek opportunities to collaborate with other member firms in our commitment to enhance the non-profit sector, both through our collective work within the Giving Institute and Giving USA Foundation; and, when working with the same clients, through coordination when appropriate to ensure the organization receives the highest level of service possible.
- Professional Development: Member firms continuously pursue opportunities to enhance our professional skills along with the capabilities of colleagues, clients, and others in the non-profit sector in order to not only understand but build upon and innovate best practices in the sector as a whole.
EXCELLENCE | Holding ourselves and the community of generosity to the highest standards and ethical practices
- Professional Conduct: Members conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates professionalism, honesty and respect for the opinion of others, and treat all with equity and dignity. Members commit to reporting harassing or abusive conduct to organizational leaders.
- Letter & Spirit of Law: Members follow the letter and spirit of applicable laws and regulations, and recognize that content and considerations vary across countries, states, provinces and municipalities.
- Clear Representation: Member firms offer a clear representation of their role in helping ensure client success and do not engage in marketing methods that are misleading to prospective clients, donors, or the public trust. Members do not guarantee fundraising results or promise access to the supporters of other client organizations. Member firms do not provide special consideration to stakeholders of a non-profit organization as compensation for influencing the selection of the firm or its services and disclose to clients and prospective clients relationships or interests that might be construed as conflicts of interest.
- Written Agreements & Professional Fees: Member firms establish written agreements with each of their client organizations. Members are transparent and fair with respect to how they bill fees and expenses, which will always be in accordance with the written agreement put in place. Member firms charge clients based upon the professional services provided. Consistent with the Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of Ethical Standards, fundraising consulting member firms never frame their fees as a success fee, make them contingent upon charitable gifts being raised, or set fees as a percentage of contributions.
- Credentials & References: Member firms readily share the professional credentials and experience of each of their staff professionals. Members will also provide credible references for their previous client work and ensure ready access to those client references.
- Data Protection, Confidentiality & Ethics: Member firms adhere to the principle that all client data is the property of that organization and will be in compliance with regulatory requirements related to data privacy and security. Members pledge to honor the confidentiality of client data and will not disclose confidential information belonging to or obtained through their affiliation with client. Member firms seek to handle data using data ethics principles such as fairness, inclusiveness, reliability and trust.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION | Fostering a diverse, equitable, inclusionary, and generous community
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Member firms respect that generosity is informed by a range of long-held traditions reaching across countries, faiths and cultures, and recognize that vital new forms of generosity continue to evolve. Members advance this broad view both through our work with clients, and through the strategies, research and diverse membership composition of The Giving Institute. We embrace all others as individuals with unique lived experiences, while cherishing what brings us together in generous community.
