Charitable giving in the United States reached an estimated $592.50 billion in 2024, while donor-advised funds, noncash gifts, and community participation also recorded substantial activity. The figures below place national giving in context for community leaders and nonprofit decision-makers.
Contents
- U.S. giving at a glance
- Who gives to charitable causes
- Where charitable dollars go
- Noncash giving and donor characteristics
- Donor-advised funds
- GivingTuesday and community participation
- Nonprofit funding and disruption
U.S. giving at a glance
Giving USA estimated total U.S. charitable giving at $592.50 billion in 2024. Giving increased 6.3% in current dollars and 3.3% after inflation. Both measures were above the long-term averages reported by Giving USA: the 2024 current-dollar increase exceeded the 40-year average of 5.5%, while the inflation-adjusted increase exceeded the 40-year real-growth average of 2.7%. These are national estimates for calendar year 2024, not a direct measure of any one community’s giving.
| Measure | 2024 result | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Total charitable giving | $592.50 billion | Estimated national total |
| Current-dollar change | 6.3% | 40-year average: 5.5% |
| Inflation-adjusted change | 3.3% | 40-year average: 2.7% |
The distinction between current dollars and inflation-adjusted dollars matters when evaluating community resources. Current-dollar growth describes the nominal change in donations. The inflation-adjusted figure provides a better indication of how the giving total changed in purchasing-power terms. In 2024, both measures increased, but the real increase was lower than the nominal increase.
Who gives to charitable causes
Individuals were the largest source of U.S. charitable giving in 2024. Individual giving was estimated at $392.45 billion, an 8.2% increase in current dollars and a 5.1% increase after inflation. Foundations contributed an estimated $109.81 billion, up 2.4% in current dollars and down 0.5% after inflation. Foundation giving was therefore essentially flat in real terms.
Charitable bequests totaled an estimated $45.84 billion. Bequest giving declined 1.6% in current dollars and 4.4% after inflation. Corporations gave an estimated $44.40 billion, increasing 9.1% in current dollars and 6.0% after inflation.
| Source of giving | Estimated 2024 amount | Current-dollar change | Inflation-adjusted change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individuals | $392.45 billion | 8.2% | 5.1% |
| Foundations | $109.81 billion | 2.4% | -0.5% |
| Bequests | $45.84 billion | -1.6% | -4.4% |
| Corporations | $44.40 billion | 9.1% | 6.0% |
Source: Giving USA 2025. All amounts are estimates for 2024. For community organizations, the pattern shows why a diversified fundraising base can matter: the four source categories did not move in the same direction or at the same pace.
Where charitable dollars go
Religion received an estimated $146.54 billion in 2024, the largest recipient category listed by Giving USA. Human services received $91.15 billion, while education received $88.32 billion. Grantmaking foundations received $71.92 billion, and public-society benefit organizations received $66.84 billion.
Health organizations received $60.51 billion. International-affairs organizations received $35.54 billion, arts, culture, and humanities organizations received $25.13 billion, and environment and animal organizations received $21.57 billion.
The fastest current-dollar increases among these listed recipient sectors were public-society benefit organizations at 19.5%, international-affairs organizations at 17.7%, and education at 13.2%. Arts, culture, and humanities increased 9.5%; environment and animal organizations increased 7.7%; human services and health each increased 5.0%; grantmaking foundations increased 3.5%; and religion increased 1.9%.
| Recipient sector | Estimated 2024 giving | Current-dollar change |
|---|---|---|
| Religion | $146.54 billion | 1.9% |
| Human services | $91.15 billion | 5.0% |
| Education | $88.32 billion | 13.2% |
| Grantmaking foundations | $71.92 billion | 3.5% |
| Public-society benefit | $66.84 billion | 19.5% |
| Health | $60.51 billion | 5.0% |
| International affairs | $35.54 billion | 17.7% |
| Arts, culture, and humanities | $25.13 billion | 9.5% |
| Environment and animals | $21.57 billion | 7.7% |
Source: Giving USA 2025. The sector amounts are national estimates and should not be treated as local fundraising totals.
Noncash giving and donor characteristics
The Internal Revenue Service reported that about 6.2 million individual tax returns claimed a noncash charitable deduction in tax year 2023. Taxpayers filed 2.8 million Form 8283 returns reporting noncash charitable contributions. The amount carried from Form 8283 to Schedule A was $93.7 billion, down 19.2% from 2022. The average noncash donation amount per Form 8283 return was about $33,545.
Corporate stock represented 57.7% of the amount carried to Schedule A, totaling $54.1 billion. The average corporate-stock donation per Form 8283 return was approximately $361,700. Easement donations totaled $10.7 billion, with an average of $4.4 million per return. Easements, real estate, and land together represented 14.9% of the tax-year-2023 amount carried to Schedule A.
Clothing donations totaled $5.8 billion, with an average clothing donation per return of about $3,150. These averages describe returns reporting particular noncash contributions; they are not averages for every individual donor or every charitable gift.
The IRS report also identified $27.2 billion, or 29.0% of the noncash amount donated, as received by donor-advised funds in tax year 2023. The report’s measurement period is tax year 2023, so it should be kept separate from calendar-year 2024 Giving USA estimates and fiscal-year 2024 donor-advised-fund figures.
Source: Individual Noncash Charitable Contributions, Tax Year 2023, Internal Revenue Service. The figures describe reported tax-return data and do not represent all charitable giving.
Donor-advised funds
The Annual DAF Report 2025 counted 1,512 U.S.-based donor-advised-fund sponsors in fiscal year 2024. That total included 103 national sponsors, 803 community foundations, and 606 single-issue charities. DAF accounts reached a record 3.59 million.
DAF assets reached $327.87 billion in fiscal year 2024, up 27.9% from fiscal year 2023. Contributions totaled $90.57 billion, up 38.6%, while grants totaled $64.60 billion, up 17.9%. The overall DAF payout rate was 25.2%, which was 1.4 percentage points higher than the prior year. Average DAF account size was $91,300, up 8.0% from the prior year.
These figures show the scale of a giving vehicle that includes community foundations as well as national and single-issue sponsors. They also distinguish money contributed to DAFs from grants made by DAFs during the fiscal year.
Source: Annual DAF Report 2025. The figures refer to U.S.-based sponsors and fiscal year 2024.
GivingTuesday and community participation
GivingTuesday estimated that $3.6 billion was donated in the United States on GivingTuesday 2024, 16% higher than the $3.1 billion estimated for 2023. An estimated 36.1 million people took part in GivingTuesday in the United States in 2024.
Participation extended beyond donations. An estimated 9.2 million U.S. participants volunteered in 2024, up 4% from 2023. An estimated 16.6 million spoke out about causes, up 17% from 2023. For community leadership, these measures place giving alongside volunteering and public advocacy as separate forms of participation.
Source: GivingTuesday 2024 Record-Breaking Results: $3.6 Billion Donated & 36.1 Million People Participated. GivingTuesday’s figures are estimates for the United States on the 2024 event day.
Nonprofit funding and disruption
Urban Institute’s nationally representative 2025 survey found that one-third of nonprofits reported at least one government-funding disruption during the first four to six months of 2025. Within the same survey, 21% reported losing at least some government funding, 27% reported a delay, pause, or freeze, and 6% reported receiving a stop-work order.
Across surveyed nonprofits, private funding from individual donors and philanthropic institutions represented an average 50% of revenue. Government funding represented 28%, earned income 18%, and other sources 4%. Among nonprofits reporting government-funding disruptions, government funding represented an average 42% of revenue.
The reported disruptions were associated with operational changes. Twenty-nine percent of disrupted nonprofits reported decreasing total employees, compared with 15% of all surveyed nonprofits. Twenty-three percent of disrupted nonprofits reported decreasing programs, compared with 12% of all surveyed nonprofits. Twenty-one percent reported decreasing the total number of people served, compared with 12% of all surveyed nonprofits. Thirteen percent reported decreasing their total number of programs, compared with 7% of all surveyed nonprofits.
Hiring plans also shifted. The share of nonprofits planning to hire new staff fell from 52% at the end of 2024 to 38% in the first four to six months of 2025. The share planning to slow hiring rose from 6% to 13%. The share planning layoffs rose from 3% to 7% overall and reached 15% among disrupted nonprofits.
Source: How Government Funding Disruptions Affected Nonprofits in Early 2025, Urban Institute. The survey covers the first four to six months of 2025 and reports averages or shares for surveyed nonprofits; it is not a forecast of future nonprofit finances.