Research Reports

In 2008, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania published the first Transfer of Wealth (TOW) analysis of Pennsylvania to spark conversations about the magnitude of the assets present in every county of the commonwealth and the opportunities to invest a small portion of those assets toward community betterment projects. Since that first analysis, much has changed in Pennsylvania and the U.S. This TOW study integrated those changes into its estimates, as well as historical trends and key assumptions about the future, to develop more current estimates for this intergenerational transfer of  wealth.

This research, conducted in 2011 and 2012, examined the status of Pennsylvania rural nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to determine how the 2007–2009 nationwide economic recession affected them. The study used a pre- and post-recession analysis of mandatory IRS 990 financial filings for all Pennsylvania rural NPOs. It also used data from a statewide survey of nonprofit organizations carried out by the United Way of Pennsylvania in 2011.

The study on the transfer of wealth (TOW) in Pennsylvania was completed to provide estimates on the amount of personal wealth that is likely to be transferred from one generation to the next from 2005 to 2055. It was completed to spark further conversations about the magnitude of the assets present in every county of the commonwealth and the opportunities to invest a small portion of those assets toward community betterment projects. The researchers completed the TOW analysis for all 67 Pennsylvania counties and the state as a whole.