Ven Batista-Pedro

Director of Marketing and Business Analytics

About Ven

The Big Picture

Giving USA 2024 Report is out today, and it gives us our yearly insight into the state of philanthropic giving in 2023.

The good news is that in a year where many thought a full-blown recession would come and giving could see a big dip, total charitable giving in the U.S. reached $557.16 billion, a 1.9% increase in current dollars from 2022. However, when adjusted for inflation, this translates to a 2.1% decline. This disparity underscores the importance of considering inflationary effects in our financial planning and donor communications. As we look at the breakdown of giving sources and the causes given to in 2023, the effect of inflation really dampens what would otherwise be fantastic numbers.

Breaking Down the Sources

Individual Giving: $374.40 billion

  • Current dollars: +1.6% | Inflation-adjusted: -2.4%
  • While still the largest source of donations, it is possible these number show individual giving felt the pinch of inflation.

Foundation Giving: $103.53 billion

  • Current dollars: +1.7% | Inflation-adjusted: -2.3%
  • Like individual giving, Foundations maintained their giving levels, but the real value is decreasing.

Bequest Giving: $42.68 billion

  • Current dollars: +4.8% | Inflation-adjusted: +0.6%
  • Planned giving remained resilient, seeing a slight uptick even when accounting for inflation.

Corporate Giving: $36.55 billion

  • Current dollars: +3.0% | Inflation-adjusted: -1.1%
  • Corporate giving held steady in nominal terms.

Sector-Specific Insights

All nine sectors saw growth in current dollars but when adjusted for inflation we get the following:

  • Religion: -1.0%
  • Human Services: +1.7%
  • Education: +6.7%
  • Foundations: +10.8%
  • Health: -4.4%
  • Public-Society Benefit: +7.2%
  • International Affairs: -1.6%
  • Arts, Culture, and Humanities: +6.6%
  • Environment/Animals: +3.9%

The Silver Lining

Despite the inflationary pressure, Americans continued to give generously. The fact that nominal giving increased across most categories shows a persistent commitment to philanthropy, even as wallets were squeezed. Some sectors, like education, foundations, and arts/culture/humanities, managed to outpace inflation, showing real growth.

As always, our friends and partners at Benefactor have created an awesome infographic for this year and I think the most powerful silver lining comes from them if we zoom out just a little from focusing on one year’s numbers: “Between 2019–2023, estimated giving has grown a cumulative $123B, or 28%, refl­ecting long-term steady growth in philanthropy.”

I love numbers and stats. In particular, I love making inferences and reaching conclusions using data. However, it is important to not get too focused on the numbers. They are not and should not be the be all and end all of how our year was. Metrics matter and they can be useful guides, but let’s not forget we are in the most human of industries. Every donation still makes a difference, regardless of economic conditions. By staying informed and committed, we can continue to do the good work that raises support for vital causes and creates positive change in the world.

This year’s full report is coming at the end of July—order the full Giving USA 2024 Report here.