Who says people aren't giving?

The worst thing you can do right now is assume that people won’t give.

According to The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 333 gifts of $1 million or more came from individuals in the 2nd half of 2008. While that is a decline compared to the same size gift in the 2nd half of 2007, it indicates that people are still giving.
This shows that the stock market declines and the credit crisis have slowed large gifts but have not stopped them.

Are you spending too much time listening to what the media reports about the economy? That would bring anybody down. Shift your focus.

Sitting at a birthday dinner celebration Saturday night, the woman beside me talked about a charitable gift she had just made. She made the gift in memory of two dear friends to a nonprofit fund that they both would love. She thought about both of her friends, and their lives, and her love for them before making the gift. Her heart led her to make a gift that would serve people now in the memory of ones who had also served.

That's what's behind every gift! That's what endures. Heart. It still is...it always will be.

Focus on that.