NC residents donate more to charity, but inflation takes toll

North Carolina residents are giving more money to charities these days, but the money isn’t going as far as it used to, an annual state report showed.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall unveiled her yearly report Monday on how most licensed charities in the state raise and use the money they’re given.

“We want the public to give generously, but wisely,” Marshall said. “As I like to say, check before you write one to be sure you’re making an informed decision with your donation.”

North Carolinians donated $58 million from July 2022 through June 2023, the report found. It’s an 18% increase over last fiscal year’s total of about $47.5 million raised.

Of this year’s total, $43.87 million went directly to charities. The remaining money goes to overhead.

“The cost of providing services by good, well-run charities has also gone up, simply because of the general inflation we’ve seen,” Marshall said.

The totals do not cover most school or religious charities because they’re not subject to the same state oversight and reporting requirements.

Marshall released her report Monday at Note in the Pocket, a Raleigh-based nonprofit that puts together two-week wardrobes for children who don’t have the clothes they need. Students are referred by teachers or social workers.

Marshall said she chose the charity because it’s well-run and and has a lasting impact on children’s lives.

“There are children going to school that are ill dressed [with] wrong clothes for the weather,” Marshall said. “And we know that, that causes bullying."

“That impacts a child’s self-confidence, which then impacts their ability to be educated,” she said

Each child gets 10 tops, five bottoms, new socks and underwear, new shoes and a jacket or coat. Each bag is delivered with a note that says, “You are loved.”

Development Director Sarah Caldwell said the clothes are high quality and tailored to the child’s tastes.

“If they love pink sparkles and unicorns, or if Spider Man is their favorite superhero, then our staff or volunteers will handpick and assemble those mini wardrobes,” Caldwell said.

Note in the Pocket runs on donations of clothes, money and time.

“Last year, we processed [more than] 280,000 pounds of clothing donations,” Caldwell said.

Volunteers move the clothes through multiple steps: Quality check, sorting, organizing, folding and labeling. The clothes go out almost as quickly as they come in. Caldwell says some 5,300 volunteers have helped out this year.

“Our requests have been up significantly over last year,” Caldwell said. “Last year, we clothed just [more than] 8,500 individuals, and this year, we will clothe 10,000 [people].”

Anyone wanting to look up information of a North Carolina charity can visit the Secretary of State’s website.

If you spot a charity that's a scam, Marshall wants you to let them know about it.

"I urge everyone—if you come across a fake charity or something that is a total scam to steal money from generous people, call us. Report it to us. We have staff to investigate these kinds of activities," Marshall said.