Charitable Giving in America: Some Facts and Figures
National Center for Charitable Statistics, June 12, 2016
Abstract
Individual giving in the United States constitutes the majority of contributions to nonprofit organizations, with giving by individuals accounting for 72% of all contributions in 2014. Giving by individuals has been increasing in both nominal and inflation-adjusted dollars in the past few years, although it has not yet recovered to pre-recession levels. There is a U-shaped relationship between total adjusted gross income and charitable giving as a percentage of adjusted gross income, meaning that those at the high end and low end of the income distribution tend to give a higher percentage of their income as contributions. Despite lower household giving, those who contribute to religious organizations tend to give more in dollars per donation and as a percentage of income. The last few months of the year are a peak time for charitable giving, with many nonprofits reporting that they receive over a quarter of their annual contributions between October and December. – AI-generated abstract.
