Boosted by a strong year for stocks and swift economic growth, U.S. giving in 2021 totaled a near-record US $485 billion.
Individuals, foundations, estates and corporations gave more to charity in 2021 than before the pandemic, according to the latest annual Giving USA report from the Giving USA Foundation, released in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.
Giving was 0.7% below the inflation-adjusted all-time high of $488 billion in 2020 – when donors responded to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing recession and an outpouring of concern over racial injustices.
As two of the lead researchers who produced this report, we found that inflation changed how far each charitable dollar went in 2021. We also saw that a significant percentage of giving came from extremely large gifts and that many charities whose 2020 donations declined may have experienced a rebound.
This blog post previously appeared in The Conversation and has been reposted with their permission. You can access the full article on their website.
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