So, how’s that New Year’s resolution working for you? By late March, many aspirations—both personal and professional—are woefully off course, perhaps abandoned entirely. That’s because we forget to step back and assess: Are we on track? Where are we headed? Have we learned anything that changes how we’ll meet our personal philanthropic goals or that will help financial advisors meet their clients’ objectives?

By understanding recent giving trends, we find better paths toward our philanthropic aims. As we saw in the recent 2023 Giving Report by Fidelity Charitable®, 2022 was a year when philanthropy became a sustaining force for nonprofits despite economic pressures. Bolstered by their use of smarter giving strategies, our donors—whose giving patterns were analyzed for the report—were able to aid nonprofits when they needed it. Here are five lessons from the research that can shape individual giving and help advisors guide clients.

  1. When the economy trended down, donors stepped up
  2. Despite reasons to be cautious, donors gave with trust
  3. Donors can contribute beyond cash—and potentially give more
  4. Even as publicly traded assets were down, those with non-publicly traded assets continued to tap those resources for giving
  5. Philanthropic heartstrings lead to repeat—and responsive—giving

Read the full article about charitable giving trends by Karla D’Alleva Valas at Forbes.