Generosity Commission

Background

The Generosity Commission was launched in 2021 as a project of the Giving Institute and its child organization Giving USA Foundation, which produces the annual Giving USA report on philanthropy. Generosity Commission was originally founded as a working group inside the Giving Institute to increase donations and volunteering in the face of a declining percentage of households reporting donations to charity and weakening number of people volunteering. ^{1  2  3  4}

The Generosity Commission was launched with the intent of publishing a final report in 2023 and then sunsetting. The groups website remains active and serves as an archive and resource hub. ^{5  4}

The Generosity Commission operated with four task forces including Communications, Faith and Giving, Policy, and Research. ²

Partners

Generosity Commission partners included the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the National Council of Nonprofits, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Generosity Commission also listed commissioned research partners that included the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, the Urban Institute, the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, the University of Maryland Do Good Institute, and Hattaway Communications. The organization also supported elements of the Nonprofit Panel Data Platform Project with National Cinch Foundation and Independent Sector. ²

Activities

GC commissioned research, focus groups, and a national survey and produced early reports like How and Why We Give and its final report, titled Everyday Actions, Extraordinary Actions, Extraordinary Potential – The Power of Giving and Volunteering. ⁶

Generosity Commission also issued five “generosity profiles” covering the rise of informal giving, links between social connectedness and generosity, faith’s role, and policy and practice recommendations including supporting community foundations, investing in small nonprofits, and funding better data collection. ⁶

The Generosity Commission launched a “national conversation” and posted their final report supported by dialogues through the Aspen Institute and others to engage everyday givers. ⁶

Funding

Early 2021 reports noted over $2 million in grants received and a $3.8 million goal for the total project. Grantors included Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ^{7  8  9  10  11}

People

The Generosity Commission founding counselor and senior adviser was Ted Grossnickle of Grossnickle + Associates. ¹²

Michael Gianoni, president, CEO, and vice chairman of Blackbaud and Jane Wales, vice president for philanthropy and society at the Aspen Institute, were co-chairs of GC. ¹²

Other notable GC commission members included Ann Mei Chang, CEO of Candid; Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Natalye Paquin, COO of the Rockefeller Foundation; Robert Rosen, former director of philanthropic partnerships at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Valerie Rockefeller, chair of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA). ¹²