Charitable giving in US hits record $485B in ’21

Charitable giving in the United States reached a record $485 billion in 2021, though the increase did not keep pace with inflation, according to a report Tuesday offering a comprehensive look at American philanthropy.

The report published by the Giving USA Foundation says donations in 2021 were 4% higher than the record-setting $466 billion contributed in 2020.

But they were down 0.7% when adjusted for inflation.

The proportion of giving by individuals totaled less than 70% of overall giving for the fourth year in a row in 2021 and the report found that giving from individuals was essentially flat in 2021 when accounting for inflation, up 4.9% to $327 billion.

“Everyday households are not participating in charitable giving to the extent that they did a decade or two ago,” said Laura Macdonald, chair of the Giving USA Foundation. “And that’s concerning. That’s troubling.”

She noted some large donors have transitioned to giving via donor-advised funds, a type of charitable investment account, or family foundations, and those donations would be counted in other categories.

Giving to arts and culture groups climbed 27.5% in 2021 to more than $23.5 billion. Conversely, giving to education declined 2.8% to $71 billion. It spiked in 2020 in part because of donations related to vaccines which went to university-affiliated hospitals and research.

“The environment for giving is evolving in multiple ways,” said Amir Pasic, dean of Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which researched and wrote the report.