Americans' charitable contributions totaled nearly $500 billion in 2022, according to Giving USA's just-released yearly report on philanthropy.
This represents a decline in giving after strong growth in 2020 and 2021, Giving USA says, noting that 2022 was only the fourth time that year-over-year contributions fell in the past four decades. (The other years were 1987, 2008, and 2009, which were affected by significant recession and inflationary pressures.)
However, Josh Birkholz, chair of the Giving USA Foundation, said the results are actually better than they could have been, considering the tough economic climate of late 2022 and persistent uncertainty about what 2023 will bring.
"I go back and forth on whether it's encouraging or discouraging," Birkholz told the Associated Press in an interview. "There was a 20% to 25% decline in the stock market and an 8% inflation rate, but Americans still gave nearly a half trillion dollars."
At a time of flux for philanthropy in the United States and globally, ThinkAdvisor is set to host an informative webcast about the state of charitable giving at 1 p.m. ET on June 27.
