Giving in Oregon Report on Philanthropy

Tracking philanthropy by analyzing gifts to Oregon’s nonprofit organizations.

Updated with 2006 Data

The Giving in Oregon project of The Oregon Community Foundation has documented philanthropy in Oregon for more than a decade. Giving in Oregon offers an objective analysis of donations to about 10,000 Oregon nonprofit organizations that enhance quality of life. The data used for monitoring giving trends come from the tax returns of Oregon nonprofit organizations. Using these tax returns gives us very reliable information. However, because nonprofits can take up to two years to submit tax returns, the most recent full set of data available today is from 2006.

Key Findings from the 2006 Data

Gifts to nonprofit organizations increased 11.2% from 2005 to 2006 compared with a 9% increase between 2004 and 2005.
Gifts in 2006 totaled $1,362,952,228, $137 million more than in 2005.
Giving was up more than 25% to education and youth development; up 16% for environment and up 15% for human services.
Giving was down for food, nutrition, and agriculture (8% down compared with 2005), philanthropy (5% down) and recreation (13% down).
Top recipient categories:
- Education, $461,641,422 (up 27% or $98 million more than in 2005)
- Human services, $139,588,104 (up 15% or $18 million from 2005)
- Health, $121,268,085 (up 9% or $9.9 million more than 2005)

Statewide graphs and charts.

2009 Mid-Year Update Survey Results

In August 2009, OCF conducted a survey of nonprofits designed to help Oregonians understand the impact of the current economic recession on nonprofits.
Survey results showed:

Demand for nonprofit services has increased an average 12% since July 2008 due to the economic recession.
78% of nonprofits have implemented cost-saving measures to make up for lost revenue. 30% of organizations have eliminated programs or services and 31% have laid off staff.
About half of survey respondents saw private contributions decline in the first six months of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008.

2006 County Data

Click on a county on the map to download a pdf report about giving in that county. Each county report includes the following:

History of giving in the county
Analysis of gifts by type of activity
Recipient organizations sorted by gift amount
Recipient organizations sorted by category and gift amount

Gifts to Oregon Nonprofits by County 2006

Map of Oregon

2006 Activity Reports

Download reports comparing gifts by county for each type of activity (e.g., arts, culture, humanities, education).

Need More Information?

Search for individual nonprofit organizations at Oregon Involved, a resource for finding and connecting with nonprofits.

Archived Giving in Oregon Reports

The 2007 Giving in Oregon Report on Philanthropy (2005 data)

Learn More