Civic & Social Organizations
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 24,100 civic and social organizations in the US promote the civic and social interests of members. The industry includes a wide range of organizations, including alumni groups, booster clubs, fraternal associations, scouting organizations, PTAs, fraternities and sororities, student associations, and veteran’s organizations. Civic and social groups operate as non-profit organizations and are exempt from federal income taxes.
Membership Affected by Demographic Trends
Because most civic and social groups operate locally, demographic trends in a particular market can greatly affect membership.
Reliance on Contributions
Contributions, gifts, and grants account for almost 30% of industry revenue and are the single largest source of funding for civic and social organizations.
Industry size & Structure
A typical civic or social organization operates out of a single location, employs about 11-12 workers, and generates $809,000 annually.
- The civic and social organization industry consists of 24,100 organizations that employ 274,300 workers, and generate over $19 billion annually.
- The industry includes a wide range of organizations, including alumni groups, booster clubs, fraternal associations, scouting organizations, PTAs, fraternities and sororities, student associations, and veteran's organizations.
- The industry is highly fragmented; the 50 largest organizations account for just over 15% of industry revenue.
- Large organizations include Freemasons, Boy Scouts, American Legion, and the YMCA.
- A vast majority of civic and social organizations are nonprofit.
Industry Forecast
Civic & Social Organizations Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 12, 2022 - Cryptocurrency Exchange Bankruptcy Casts Shadow Over Crypto Philanthropy
- The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by cryptocurrency exchange giant FTX has cast doubt on the future of so-called crypto philanthropy. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s philanthropic fund has halted donations. Bankman-Fried had emerged as a leader of what has been dubbed the "effective altruism" movement, which sought to reshape philanthropy. Crypto philanthropy has exploded over the last two years. Fidelity Charitable received around $330 million in cryptocurrency in 2021 up from $28 million in 2020. The Giving Block, a cryptocurrency donation platform, reported $69 million in total donation volume last year, an impressive 1,558% spike from 2020. Major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance launched their own philanthropy initiatives. Most nonprofits don’t keep the crypto they receive: They convert it to traditional currency.
- Philanthropy is increasingly leaning on donations from a few wealthy donors who make 10-figure gifts, according to experts. MacKenzie Scott has given away over $12 billion in just the past few years. Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates gifted $15 billion to their own foundation in 2021. Elon Musk appeared to have given away over $5 billion late last year, but the money may have gone into a donor-advised fund (DAF), an increasingly popular (and controversial) mode of giving among the rich. DAFs aren’t required to distribute a certain amount of their fund every year, while private foundations have to disburse at least 5% of their endowment. The money could, in theory, sit in a DAF forever while the donor’s tax liability shrinks. The National Philanthropic Trust reports that DAFs received about $25 billion in contributions in 2016. They got almost $48 billion in 2021.
- Inflation is blunting the impact of charitable giving, according to Giving USA. Consider a donor who gave $10,000 to their charity of choice in 2021. To have the same impact in 2022, that donor would have to give about $10,700. Donors are more likely to make that $10,000 gift again, however, which can blunt the impact they’re able to make on beneficiaries.
- Federal legislation that would restore tax breaks for donors and allow seniors to make tax-free withdrawals from their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) when making a contribution are in various stages of discussion on Capitol Hill. The IRA Legacy Act would allow senior citizens to make a tax-free withdrawal from an IRA of up to $400,000 if the money was going to a charity. An attachment to a tax bill would reinstate a charitable tax deduction of $300 for single filers and $600 for joint filers, according to lobbyists for the sector.
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