Vital Signs – Indicators of Community Need

Vital Signs Report: A Data-Rich and Objective Look at Collier County

When we created Vital Signs report in 2012, we were among the first to look at our regions’ indicators, our strengths and weaknesses, and base our grantmaking activities on realities supported by data.

Vital Signs  is an even more robust tool that provides the Community Foundation staff, its grantmaking committees, all civic leaders and the broader public with a tool to assess need in our community.

Whether your interests are related to education, the need for human services, the arts, our environment, health, or the issues facing at-risk women and girls, Vital Signs  provides a comprehensive look at the quality of life in Collier County…by the numbers.

• Vital Signs 2016 – Click here to see latest Vital Signs in Collier County
• Nonprofit Directory Survey – A Comparison of Local and National Nonprofit Data
• Contact Mary George at mgeorge@cfcollier.org or 239.307.4514 for more information.

Vital Signs is a conversation starter to be used by planners, policymakers, nonprofit leadership and grantmakers like the Community Foundation of Collier County to move us forward.  It is a snapshot of where we stand.  But, it is up to all of us to work together to discover where we can go and how we will get there.

Our thanks to the Johnson School of Business at Hodges University and the Naples Daily News, plus an anonymous donor, for making this important publication possible.

The Philanthropy Outlook 2015-2016

Because of the value of the nonprofit sector and the donations on which the sector relies, The Philanthropy Outlook 2015-2016 provides data and analysis for predicted year-to-year growth rates in U.S. philanthropy for the years 2015 and 2016.  These trends include overall U.S. giving and giving by individuals/households, foundations, estates, and corporations.

While the economic and financial sector has seen greater-than-normal economic volatility in recent years, the coming years are expected to be slightly more stable and optimistic:

• Contributions from all sources of giving are expected to grow into 2015 and 2016.
• Growth of total giving in each year, 2015 and 2016, will exceed the estimated annualized average rate of growth in total giving in the years following the Great Recession
• While giving by individuals/households will see the slowest overall growth in 2015 and 2016, compared with the other sources of giving, giving by foundations and corporations is expected to be quite strong in both 2015 and 2016
• Giving by estates is expected to grow in 2015 and 2016, although at a slightly volatile rate across those years.

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy developed this report to help inform the nonprofit sector.  Nonprofit leaders and staff can use the information within The Philanthropy Outlook to guide decision making about future budgeting, staffing, fundraising, programming, and general nonprofit development, as well as for board reports, general nonprofit reports, and research on philanthropic giving trends. This information can also be used to demonstrate to the public the importance of the philanthropic sector and the likely positive developments in giving to come.