Charitable giving on the Vineyard remains almost inexplicably robust this summer season, even while across the nation there is mounting evidence the sagging economy is having a devastating effect on philanthropy.

Donations to the Salvation Army are reported to be down 20 per cent, contributions to church collection plates are off an estimated 35 per cent, and several charities tasked with providing aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina have nearly gone bankrupt.

In the Hamptons on Long Island, N.Y., charitable officials have slashed ticket prices in an attempt to fill fund-raising events without great success. Some officials in that famously affluent summer enclave have reported that charitable giving is down as much 40 per cent or more.

But despite these harbingers of financial doom, Vineyard philanthropists are still giving strong, according to many nonprofit officials.

The Island Affordable Housing Fund raised more than $1 million last weekend during its Housing on the Tube telethon; Monday’s Possible Dreams auction brought in over $560,000 for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, up from last year; and the Farm Institute recently raised around $215,000 during its Meals in the Meadow event, far exceeding its goal of $150,000.

A recent study released by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University showed that the overall Philanthropic Giving Index — a sort of consumer confidence index for charitable giving — was down 6 percent from December and 4.7 percent from this same time last year. Across the country, non-profit officials are hastily formulating new and innovative strategies to battle the trend of people giving less.

And while most Island charities have not seen a reduction in their bottom line, they have tried new ways to entice people to donate more. Although clambakes and auctions are still the norm, many nonprofits are now trying things such as the Housing on the Tube telethon, which last week broke all records for charitable giving on the Vineyard.

Patrick Manning, executive director for the Island Affordable Housing Fund, said organizers of the second annual telethon were aware people had less discretionary funds this year. He conceded that year-round and seasonal residents are asked to donate to an unusually high number of charities during the short summer season, which brings added pressure for a successful event.

“We are very fortunate people here haven’t been giving less, at least so far. But I think it’s clear people are scrutinizing every dollar they give. They want to know how, exactly, their money is being spent. In our case, they want to know their money is being used to put people directly into homes; and I think we did a good job demonstrating that [during the recent telethon],” he said.

One reason nonprofits have taken a more innovative approach is the sheer number of charitable organizations on the Vineyard has increased every year for the past 20 years. According to the national center for charitable statistics, there are 207 registered nonprofits on the Vineyard for the current fiscal year — almost double the number in 1990.

Over the past 20 months alone, at least five new nonprofits have been registered: the U.S. Slave Song Project, the Vineyard Village at Home, the Vineyard Arts Project, the Rising Tide Therapeutic Equestrian Center Inc. and the Martha’s Vineyard Lyme Disease Association.

And the total number of nonprofits does not include many other charitable endeavors not registered with the state. Figures from the national center for charitable statistics indicate that charitable giving is a multi-million dollar industry on the Vineyard: nonprofits took in over $106 million in revenue during fiscal year 2008, while holding over $233 million in assets.

Peter Temple, executive director for the Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative, said there are indications that charitable giving may suffer in the coming years, if it hasn’t happened already. Information gathered by the donors collaborative indicates that Vineyard nonprofits are highly dependent on donations — 80 are 100 percent dependent — while most lack endowments or other major sources of income to fall back on.

“There is growing number of nonprofits competing for a finite number of people and discretionary dollars,” Mr. Temple said. “While there are encouraging signs — the YMCA fund drive and the [housing] telethon to name just two — there are reasons for concern. There are too many events and not enough people, and I worry we may wind up killing the golden goose.”

Mr. Temple said the donors collaborative was established by the boards of directors of several nonprofits to address the growing list of fundraisers held each year. The glut of events — especially between Memorial Day and Labor Day — has made scheduling competitive and forced many potential donors to decide between events.

“These [nonprofits] aren’t just competing for dollars; they are competing for resources and volunteers. Nobody will ever come out say that they have to compete against their fellow [nonprofit], but in reality you look at schedule every time you plan an event out of fear of stepping on someone’s toes,” he said.

Mr. Temple said the trend of more nonprofits and fundraisers has more of an effect on smaller organizations that are unable to host events with celebrities and A-list talent. “Small nonprofits,” he said, “have a hard time breaking through the clutter.”

He also said nonprofits have come to depend too much on seasonal residents who contribute the biggest share of Island philanthropy. This in turn has led to the high number of fundraisers during the summer.

“Their organizations cannot survive without seasonal residents, but on the other side of the coin they can’t survive without contributions from the year-round population as well,” he said.

Mr. Temple said government statistics show the average Vineyard nonprofit receives 20 per cent less in contributions today than it did 10 years ago, while the population and demand for services has increased. He noted the AIDS Alliance has gone out of business and the Visiting Nurse Service has been shut down, while the Island Food Pantry and Featherstone Center for the Arts have endured several years of deficits.

Mr. Temple said there are solutions, although none are easy. He said nonprofits should consider mergers, joint ventures and strategic relationships with other charitable organizations that might improve the effectiveness of their programs and save money. But most importantly, he said, nonprofits need to lessen their dependence on fund-raising events and identify other ways to raise capital, such as grant writing and annual giving campaigns.

Mr. Temple said nonprofits should explore ways to allow year-round and seasonal residents to make planned giving part of their estate planning. He warned that a continued trend of dependence of fund-raising events may eventually lead to a trend of acute donor fatigue.

“As it is now, there are literally too many events to go to. People might just start shutting down when the hat gets passed around,” he said.

Jan Hatchard, development director for the ever-popular Possible Dreams auction, said she was tremendously pleased Monday’s event brought in a solid amount, but not really surprised.

“There is something special about the Vineyard: our extended family really cares about us, and for that we are thankful. We hear about the bad economy, but people are also aware the first people affected by those hard financial times are the very ones we help and serve,” she said.

Mrs. Hatchard acknowledged there are a large number of charities competing for a finite number of dollars, but said a little bit of planning goes along way towards spreading the funding out.

“Planning is key . . . if we are going to put legs under this event for the next 30 years we need to give the people something they want. Every year brings new challenges,” she said.

Matthew Goldfarb, executive director for the Farm Institute, said officials start planning the annual fundraiser months in advance to make sure they don’t overlap with other events. In recent years, he said, this has become more difficult as the number of events has increased.

“You do the best you can, but sometimes you have to schedule [fundraisers] the same day [as others]. Overall I would say there is enough to go around to support all these amazing organizations; you just have to be careful. We’re all fishing in the same pond,” he said.