Giving Compass' Take:

• Key findings from the Giving USA 2019 report reveal that total annual giving declined from 2017 to 2018. The research highlights charitable giving by category and source.

• The Chair of Giving USA, Rick Dunham, points out that both shifts in the tax policy and the stock market impacted charitable giving in 2018. Did your giving habits change last year?

• Read the Giving USA report from 2018.

Amid a complex climate for charitable giving, American individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $427.71 billion to U.S. charities in 2018, according to Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018.

Key Findings From the Report: 

Giving By Source:

  • Giving by individuals totaled an estimated $292.09 billion, falling 1.1 percent in 2018 (a decline of 3.4 percent, adjusted for inflation).
  • Giving by foundations increased 7.3 percent, to an estimated $75.86 billion in 2018 (an increase of 4.7 percent, adjusted for inflation).
  • Giving by bequest totaled an estimated $39.71 billion in 2018, staying flat compared to 2017 with a 0.0 percent increase from 2017.
  • Giving by corporations is estimated to have increased by 5.4 percent in 2018, totaling $20.05 billion (an increase of 2.9 percent, adjusted for inflation). Corporate giving includes cash and in-kind contributions made through corporate giving programs, as well as grants and gifts made by corporate foundations.

Giving By Use:

  • Giving to religion declined 1.5 percent between 2017 and 2018, with an estimated $124.52 billion in contributions
  • Giving to education is estimated to have declined 1.3 percent between 2017 and 2018, to $58.72 billion.
  • Giving to human services declined by an estimated 0.3 percent in 2018, totaling $51.54 billion.
  • Giving to foundations is estimated to have declined by 6.9 percent in 2018, to $50.29 billion.
  • Giving to health is estimated to have had flat growth of 0.1 percent between 2017 and 2018 to $40.78 billion.
  • Giving to public-society benefit organizations decreased an estimated 3.7 percent between 2017 and 2018, to $31.21 billion.
  • Giving to arts, culture, and humanities is estimated to have stayed relatively flat, with growth of 0.3 percent between 2017 and 2018, to $19.49 billion.
  • Giving to international affairs is estimated to be $22.88 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.6 percent from 2017.
  • Giving to environmental and animal organizations is estimated to have increased 3.6 percent between 2017 and 2018, to $12.70 billion.
  • Giving to individuals is estimated to have declined 2.6 percent (4.9 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars) between 2017 and 2018, to $9.06 billion.