It is the season of giving, and among the beneficiaries are non-profit organizations. Donations are up this year; or at least when the totals are tallied in March it is estimated that they will be.
Charity Navigator ranks cities based on the quality of their non-profits, and for the last three years, Houston has been either number one or number two in the nation.
Dini Spheris (formerly Dini Partners) is a consulting firm in the non-profit sector and managing partner Larry Vaclavik says estimates of the largesse being extended to charities are based on the larger size of the current donations.
“There are two reasons for that,” Vaclavik tells KTRH News. “One is portfolios being restored to their previous value after the recession, particularly across Texas. The second reason is that there are simply more opportunities to give. There are more non-profits that held off on campaigns or fund-raising during the downturn.”
Vaclavik also says giving is part of the DNA of Houston. “It’s been so much a part of our community ethos for years. You track that back to the giants of our community, those names of Brown, and Cullen, and M.D. Anderson and the fact that those people were committed to philanthropy.”
Giving. It’s what Houstonians do.
