Giving Statistics 2010

Few people realize how large charities have become, how many vital services they provide, and how much funding flows through them each year. Without charities and non-profits, America would simply not be able to operate. Their operations are so big that during 2009, in the midst of a recession, total giving was still more than $300 billion.

How big is the sector?

• Total giving to charitable organizations was $303.74 billion in 2009 (about 2% of GDP). This is a decrease of 3.6% from 2008 when giving was $315.08 billion.
  




• As in previous years, the majority of that giving came from individuals--$227.4 billion (75%). Giving by individuals dropped 0.4%.
  




• Giving by bequest was $23.8 billion (down 23.9%), foundations gave $38.4 billion (down 8.9%), and corporations donated $14.1 billion (up 5.5%).
  




• 33% of all donations go to religious organizations --$100.9 billion (down 0.7%). Much of these contributions can be attributed to people giving to their local place of worship. The next largest sector was education with $40 billion (down 3.6%).
  




• Here's how the other categories of charities performed: gifts to international charities grew 0.6% ($13.3 billion), donations to human services charities increased 2.3% ($27 billion), giving to animal and environment charities charities increased 2.3% ($6.15 billion), giving to health charities increased 3.8% ($22.5 billion), ), giving to arts, culture and humanities organizations decreased 2.4% ($12.3 billion), and giving to public benefit charities declined 4.6% ($22.8 billion.

All data property of Giving USA 2010, the Annual Report on Philanthropy, published by the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy.