East Bay Community Foundation Hits All-Time High in Holiday Giving PDF Print E-mail
Majority of Total for East Bay Causes


January 3, 2007 - Oakland, California – Holiday-period charitable giving from the East Bay Community Foundation and its donors reached an all-time high during the last three months of 2006.


Estimates differ, but as much as a third of the nation’s charitable giving probably occurs during the holiday period of October, November and December.


According to East Bay Community Foundation President Karen Stevenson, the Foundation and its donors made 759 grants to non-profit organizations and causes during the period with a total value of $12.2 million. The all-time high compares to 678 grants totaling $5.8 million during the holiday period in 2005.


“It is true that Americans routinely give more to charity during the holiday period,” said Stevenson. “This trend results from a combination of factors, including tradition, people wanting to share with others in need, and the ‘giving spirit’ of the holidays. It’s also fueled by the attention and encouragement giving receives from the media during that time. Grant making by the East Bay Community Foundation and its donors has been increasing year on year consistently, but the level of activity during the holiday period of 2006 was dramatic.”


The Foundation manages charitable funds with a total value of more than $268 million. During the past four years, annual grant making by the Foundation and its donors has grown from $14.50 million to $27.84 million.


Carla Dartis, the Foundation’s Vice President of Community Investment, noted that grants to non-profit organizations focusing on strengthening and supporting vulnerable families and children drew notable support from the Foundation and its donors during the 2006 holiday season.


During the holiday period, added Dartis, donors are also especially interested in targets for their giving that address the East Bay’s most important needs and that will yield change and results. “We’re uniquely equipped to provide such information to donors through our Community Needs Assessment research and our knowledge of the non-profit organizations that provide effective solutions to problems in the East Bay,” she said.


The entirety of the Foundation’s own holiday-period grant making and a large chunk of giving during the period by donors holding charitable funds at the Foundation go directly to non-profit organizations serving Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Of the $12.2 million contributed during the holiday period from the Foundation and its donors, 61% of the total, or $7.4 million, went to East Bay causes.