Charitable giving is less susceptible to recession than the general economy, but nonprofits nonetheless are planning for a future that may include less support from foundations, the New York Times reported Nov. 11.

About $300 billion was donated to charity last year, a figure that is not expected to decline precipitously. "Just about any way you look at it, the Depression was one of the best periods for charitable fund-raising," notes fundraising expert Robert F. Sharpe Jr.

Still, "I just don't see how we can have these conversations out of one side of our mouths about people's cratering 401(k) plans and sinking home values and then say there isn't going to be some sort of big negative kick to the giving stream, as well," said Lucy Bernholz, president of nonprofit consulting firm Blueprint Research and Design.

And Patrick M. Rooney, interim director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, said that the Standard & Poors 500 stock index -- way down this week -- has been a reliable predictor of trended in individual giving.

Rooney believes individual donations to charity would decline about $8.7 billion from last year's $178 billion. And Kimberly Wright-Violich, president of the Schwab Charitable Fund, said donations to donor-advised funds "hit a brick wall" in September.

On the other hand, institutional giving is expected to remain level or even increase over the next year because foundations have already budgeted for the next two years in many cases.