Thirty-six percent of charities reported an increase in donations during the first nine months of the year, up from 23 percent during the same time period in 2009, MarketWatch reported, based on data from the Nonprofit Research Collaborative. The number of charities reporting a decrease in giving dropped to 37 percent, down from 51 percent in the same period last year. A Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund survey in October found that 55 percent of U.S. donors plan to maintain their level of charitable giving in the fourth quarter, and 8 percent said they’d give more than in past years because the need for help is more acute.