Continuing strong in 2018, Campbell Rinker’s Donor Confidence Index reached 97.6 in our August poll. This closely mimics the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index of 97.4 for the preceding three-month period.
This month marks the strongest level of donor confidence since June 2014, when the index topped out at 98.3.
The month saw Apple report a value of $1 Trillion for the first time, and marked the passing of Senator John McCain. Little else was reported in terms of troubling economic news.
The previous high-water mark for a strong August Donor Confidence Index was in August 2012. In that month, Campbell Rinker’s poll of 400 US donors posted a 95 rating, a sharp increase from the Index level of 83 measured a year earlier.
In August 2009, the anniversary of the recession beginning the previous year, Campbell Rinker donor confidence rated at 87. The benchmark level of 100 was established in a poll of 2,300 donors taken in February, 2008 – before the recession began.