Fidelity Charitable, the nation’s largest grant maker, has reported a banner 2020, with donations surging 24% from 2019 to $9.1 billion — by far the largest total on record. Yet so deep were the hardships caused by the viral pandemic that even a record high in contributions fell well short of the need.

The charity reported Wednesday that donations to charities that address food insecurity rocketed up 1,200%, with Feeding America, Meals on Wheels and World Central Kitchen becoming among Fidelity Charitable’s Top 20 most popular charities for the first time. And contributions to the CDC Foundation, which advances the mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, jumped 9,582%.

Yet in contrast to food and medical research, some other sectors of philanthropy, especially those in arts and culture, have not fared so well. A survey of nonprofits by CCS Fundraising found that donations declined at roughly 44% of the charities and increased at 38.6% of them. Those figures are supported by a recent Wells Fargo/Gallup study that found that 20% of investors who were surveyed donated less in 2020 because of the pandemic; 18% gave more.

Read the full article about 2020 donations by Glenn Gamboa at Associated Press News.