Continued support for human services charities is now more important than ever because, nationwide, the share of charitable donations to human services is shrinking.

Recently, Jerry Large of The Seattle Times wrote about a national report illustrating changes in charitable giving: “Gilded Giving: Top-Heavy Philanthropy in an Age of Extreme Inequality.” Put briefly, the report found the proportion of charitable donations made by the wealthiest Americans is increasing while the proportion of donations from middle and lower income levels is shrinking. The number of low-dollar and mid-range donors to national public charities has declined by as much as 25 percent from 2005 to 2015. The report correlates this decline with growing economic inequality and with the increased economic insecurity experienced by middle- and lower-income households since the Great Recession.

Low- and middle-income donors contribute more to human services charities, while the wealthiest contribute more to the arts and education. Education donations include contributions to universities with already substantial endowments. Examples cited by the report include gifts such as hedge fund manager John A. Paulson’s $400 million gift to Harvard University and Nike founder Phil Knight’s $400 million gift to Stanford University.

How does this affect us on Vashon? If we follow the national trend, Vashon’s human services charities will experience a decline in the proportion of overall charitable donations. Islanders’ continued support of human services charities on Vashon is more important than ever.

Could Vashon’s charities make up for this decline by pursuing grants? The Gilded Giving Report notes the dramatic increase in the number of grant-making private foundations.

The trend of these new foundations is to accomplish a specific initiative, rather than to support already established human services. Reading the sports pages, one frequently learns of the latest pro athlete who has created a private foundation, typically in his or her name. While the commitment to giving back is laudable, it does nothing to support the daily, ongoing operations of existing programs. Further, private foundations have great latitude to simply hold and invest assets rather than actually distribute funds for the declared charitable purpose.

Even United Way, which was created to serve as the umbrella funding source for service charities is no longer “united” and has narrowed its focus, curtailing funding for our local senior and family services.

What about government assistance? Every charitable deduction taken for contributions to private foundations reduces the overall government revenue and, therefore, the funds available for social service programs.

At Vashon Community Care, where I volunteer, we have to raise over $500,000 every year to cover the gap between the cost of care and Medicaid reimbursement. We are pursuing grant opportunities, but our experience is mirroring the national trends. There are relatively few granting agencies that award grants for operations, or for what they euphemistically call “budget deficits.” As if we could control the Medicaid funding shortfall or the increase in drug costs.

In a way, it’s understandable. We all want to undertake a specific challenge with a concrete goal and a finish line. We want to build monuments. Donor fatigue creeps in, yet the poor will always be with us. For me, it helps to treat charitable giving the same as paying annual property taxes to support public education. For others, it’s the practice of annual tithing.

At Vashon Community Care, we are fortunate to have a number of sustaining donors who give what they can afford on a monthly basis. This really helps us to forecast our cash flow. We have many loyal donors who are on fixed incomes but continue to “give back” or perhaps, in the case of Vashon Community Care, “pay ahead.” In addition, over 100 volunteers help to maintain the quality of life at Vashon Community Care. Our donors are critical to fulfilling Vashon Community Care’s commitment to continue to care for those who have invested their lives on Vashon but have outlived their resources.

Vashon’s human service charities have created the Vashon Social Service Network. I believe this effort will further ensure that programs are managed with efficiency and without duplication.

For your holiday giving consider a donation in the recipient’s name. In addition to your donations of money and time, please continue to support Granny’s, whose grants to Vashon’s social services are critical to continued operations.

— Janet Quimby serves on the board of the Vashon Community Care Foundation.