Giving USA Releases Good News

On Tuesday, Giving USA—the country’s preeminent source for charitable statistics—released its annual report on giving. Among the most interesting findings:

• Giving in 2013 totaled $335.17 billion, a 3% increase over the prior year
• Of that total, 72% was from individuals ($240.6B, up 2.7% from 2012); 15% from foundations ($48.96B, up 4.2% from 2012); 8% from bequests ($27.73B, up 7.2% from 2012); and 5% from corporations ($17.88B, down 3.2% from 2012)
• Giving to education grew the most while giving to religious organizations declined
• However, giving to religion still accounts for the largest piece of the giving pie: more than 31% of all charitable giving goes to religious organizations
• Giving to the public-society benefit sector increased more than 7% over the prior year to $23.89 billion. This sector is where donor-advised funds are counted and these findings reflect those of NPT’s Donor-Advised Fund Report.

The Giving USA report is positive news for charities and donors who make donations of all sizes. Giving is on the rise and is poised to match pre-recession levels in the next two years, if not next year. Now is the time for donors to begin thinking strategically about their philanthropic efforts.

To learn more about charitable giving in America, you can download a copy of Giving USA 2014 from their website. NPT is able to provide a 15 percent discount to our friends and colleagues on the purchase of any Giving USA product with code NPT1415.