Giving USA’s Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2022 shows charitable giving declined in 2022 by an inflation-adjusted 10.5 percent. Last year was only the fourth year in four decades that giving did not increase in current dollars year-over-year, painting a grim picture for the future of charitable giving.
Key Takeaways from Giving USA:
- An estimated $499 billion in total charitable giving went to charities in 2022, compared to the nearly $517 billion in 2021, dropping 10.5 percent when adjusted for inflation (a decline of 3.4 percent in current dollars).
- Giving by individuals decreased 13.4 percent when adjusted for inflation (a decline of 6.4 percent in current dollars).
- Giving by foundations declined by 5 percent when adjusted for inflation (an increase of 2.5 percent in current dollars).
- Last year marked only the fourth year in four decades that total charitable giving did not increase in current dollars: 1987, 2008, 2009, 2022.
Coupled with the decades-long decline in the percentage of donors giving to charity, the new Giving USA data reinforces the need to encourage charitable giving from all Americans, not just those who itemize. Larger donations from wealthy donors are making up a greater percentage of total individual giving. Promoting a culture of charitable giving from all Americans – including lower- and middle-income taxpayers – is a vital step in the right direction to strengthening civil society and helping to reverse these troubling trends.
The charitable deduction works. It encourages donors to give away more than they otherwise would, and it signals the importance of engaging in civil society.
Fortunately, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress agrees. The Charitable Act (H.R. 3435, S. 566) would restore and expand the universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers and help to correct these trends and grow charitable giving. The Charitable Giving Coalition is working with lawmakers in the House and Senate to pass the Charitable Act before the end of the year.