Giving USA 2023: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2022
As a member firm of The Giving Institute, Prasad Consulting & Research is excited to announce the release of Giving USA 2023: The Annual Report on Philanthropy. Giving USA is the longest-running, most comprehensive report on the sources and uses of charitable giving in the United States.
The report is presented as a collaborative effort by the Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of The Giving Institute, and the research team at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Some key findings of the report:
In 2022, total estimated charitable giving in the United States reached $499.33 billion.
Total giving declined by 3.4% in current dollars from 2021 to 2022, and declined 10.5% when adjusted for inflation.
Giving in 2022 was influenced by the year-end stock market and economic uncertainty.
Giving grew in current dollars for five of nine major recipient subsectors: religion; foundations; health; arts, culture, & humanities; and international affairs. However, when adjusted for the inflation rate of 8%, giving only grew for 2 subsectors, foundations and international affairs.
Giving to international affairs grew 10.9% (2.7% when adjusted for inflation), likely due to donations made in response to the crisis in Ukraine and the floods in Pakistan.
Giving to religious organizations made up the largest portion of total gifts received in 2022, at 27% of total giving.
Additional findings include:
Giving by individuals experienced a decline after two of the most generous giving years on record, though at 64%, it still represents the lion's share of American philanthropy.
Individual giving as a percentage of disposable personal income reached its lowest levels in over 25 years, influenced by stock market volatility and inflation.
Very large “mega-gifts” totaled $13.96 billion in 2022, and represented about 5% of giving by individuals for the second year in a row. The report defines a "mega-gift" as a gift which is greater than 0.1% of total giving in a given year, rounded to the nearest $50 million. The cutoff for 2022 was $500 million.
Giving by foundations, bequests, and corporations grew in current dollars. However, all sources of giving declined when adjusted for inflation.
Regardless of inflation adjustments, corporations and foundations experienced positive two-year growth. Bequest giving tends to be more volatile due to large bequests in one year that may not appear in the following years.
Giving by corporations had the strongest growth rate of all four sectors in current dollars. Corporate giving includes gifts and grants made by corporate foundations, as well as cash and in-kind contributions made through corporate giving programs.