After a bountiful 2024, all eyes are on 2025 when it comes to charitable giving and the future of charitable giving.

The donor class was given a lot to work with in 2024, and by all accounts they gave their fair share back. The S&P 500 spent most of the year more than 20 percent to the plus side, even after a breathless 24 percent sprint higher in 2023. Gold turned out to be a risk-on asset after all, outshining stocks by rising almost 30 percent through November, while bitcoin more than doubled by year-end, pushing past $100,000 the week after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Examining the Future of Charitable Giving in the Context of the Past

Meanwhile, even the bull market’s skeptics were able to add to their piles as the months passed, clipping coupons on the sidelines as is their wont and custom. For the first time in ages, though, they bided their time in bonds without biting their lips. That’s because the risk-free 10 Year Treasury yield stayed well above four percent for a significant chunk of 2024, making it far less painful as they waited in cash or high-grade corporates for the rally in stocks to peter out.

Which it never did, of course, indicating the possible future of charitable giving.

In fact, the bull market kicked into a higher gear in early November upon the election of former President Trump and the promise of lower taxes and less regulation. Not that the risk-off crowd was left entirely out of the market's good cheer. Trump’s victory also spurred yields higher due to those very same two reasons and their potential effects on the nation’s widening debt obligations.

“With back-to-back years of strong stock market performance, 2024 has been a record year for charitable contributions. Fidelity Charitable’s annual report reveals nearly a five-times increase in grants over the past decade. This surge highlights that wealth creation, when paired with strategic planning, often leads to greater community impact,” said Rick Nott, managing director at Angeles Wealth Management.

Fortunately, society’s most fortunate generally did the right thing with all that extra dough, proving yet again that America, both the red and blue of it, is indeed a charitable nation, indicating a possible part of the future of charitable giving.

Read the full article about the future of charitable giving by Gregg Greenberg at Investment News.