Charitable Giving Statistics | NPTrust (2024)

FAQs

What are the statistics for charitable giving? ›

Fundraising Statistics: Charitable Donations

In 2022, Americans gave $499.33 billion to charity. The largest source of giving came from individuals, who contributed $319.04 billion, representing 64% of total giving. 21% of total nonprofit giving came from foundations in 2022, for an estimated total of $105.21 billion.

How much of your donations actually go to charity? Some charities allocate 60% of donations to their cause, preserving a large portion of funds to pay staff high salaries, while others allocate 95% of their goods and funds to people in need.

Total giving declined 3.4% in current dollars - down 10.5% after adjusting for inflation - from a revised total of $516.65 billion in 2021. The 2022 results follow the two best years on record for charitable giving, including 2021 when giving surpassed $500 billion for the first time.

The average American gives about 3% to 5% of their income to charity. A small fraction of our population gives 10%. If your mortgage is your only debt, and you're already sufficiently saving for your future, you may have the capacity to give more.

Percentage of Households Giving to Charity

The sizes of their gifts tend to rise as well. However: if you look at average donations as a fraction of funds available, they tend to level off at around 2-3 percent of income.

People are generally more philanthropic toward the end of their lives, when they tend to have more savings, time, and motivation to help others. (Giving peaks at ages 61-75, when 77 percent of households donate, compared to just over 60 percent among households headed by someone 26-45 years old.)

Your gift will help save kids' lives and help drive the research to cure childhood cancer. We're proud that 82 cents of every dollar received goes to support the treatment, research and future needs of St. Jude. Treatments invented at St.

Donating to charity is a major mood-booster. The knowledge that you're helping others is hugely empowering and, in turn, can make you feel happier and more fulfilled.

42% of those surveyed said that financial resources were their reason, which made this the most common reason not to give. The issue of financial constraints is a significant barrier to charitable giving, particularly in times of economic recession and job loss.

Why don't people donate to charity? ›

2. I need to save money for myself and for my family. Spending money on ourselves and our family members now, or saving for future educational needs and retirement, does not have to prevent you from donating. There are two ways to help without hurting your family now or in the future.

Behind the Decline

The dip was followed by a slowdown in charitable giving in 2022. Total giving declined by 10.5% in that year after adjusting for inflation, according to the Giving USA Foundation .

While the tendency to give is common, Republicans donate larger sums than Democrats. Overall giving levels rise as incomes grow for both groups, but Republicans give slightly more at each income level.

One common theory links it to charities' obligation to provide a receipt for an annual contribution of $250 or more, per Internal Revenue Service rules. A $19 contribution across 12 months amounts to $228, less than the receipt-sending threshold.

Two thirds of the billionaires on The Forbes 400 scored a 1 or 2, meaning they have given less than 5% of their fortune to charity.

Based on surveys by Gallup across 142 countries, the report examines volunteerism and charitable giving. As our chart shows, 83 percent of people in Myanmar made a donation to charity in the month prior to survey, the highest rate worldwide.