Charitable Giving Statistics, Trends And Facts 2023

Charitable giving is an important aspect of our society and a significant driver of economic and social impact. It encompasses donations made to a range of organizations and causes, including education, health, social services, and more.

In this blog post, we delve into charitable giving statistics to understand the trends, adoption, and benefits of charitable giving in today’s world.

Charitable Giving Statistics:

Statistic	Value
Total charitable giving in 2020	$471.44 billion
Increase in 2020 compared to previous year	5.1%
Donors worldwide giving to NGOs, NPOs & charities outside of their country	31%
Donors giving in response to natural disasters	41%
Growth rate of education giving in 2020	3.6%
Growth rate of total charitable giving in 2016	4.1%
Growth rate of total charitable giving in 2017	5%
Total foundation giving in 2016	$58.28 billion
Increase in foundation giving from 2015 to 2016	3.5%
Total giving to education charities in 2016	$58.9 billion (14% of all donations)
Total giving to human services charities in 2016	$50.06 billion (12% of all donations)
Total foundation giving in 2016	$45.89 billion (11% of all donations)
Total health charity giving in 2016	$38.27 billion (9% of all donations)
Total public-society benefit charity giving in 2016	$29.59 billion (7% of all donations)
Total international charity giving in 2016	$22.97 billion (6% of all donations)
Total arts, culture and humanities charity giving in 2016	$19.51 billion (5% of all donations)
Total environment/animals charity giving in 2016	$11.83 billion (3% of all donations)
Total charitable giving to religious organizations in 2016	$127.37 billion (31% of all donations)
Source of charitable giving in 2017 (individuals)	$281.86 billion (72% of total giving)
Source of charitable giving in 2017 (foundations)	$58.28 billion (15% of total giving)
Source of charitable giving in 2017 (bequests)	$30.36 billion (8% of total giving)
Source of charitable giving in 2017 (corporations)	$18.55 billion (5% of total giving)
Majority of charitable dollars in 2016 (religion)	$127.37 billion (32%)
Majority of charitable dollars in 2016 (education)	$58.9 billion (16%)
Majority of charitable dollars in 2016 (human services)	$50.06 billion (12%)
Majority of charitable dollars in 2016 (grantmaking foundations)	$45.89 billion (11%)
Majority of charitable dollars in 2016 (health)	$38.27 billion (9%)
Largest giving increase in 2016 (environment/animals)	7.2%
Charitable giving as a percentage of GDP in 2016	2.1%
Historical growth rate of charitable giving compared to stock market	about one-third as fast
Percentage of high net worth households giving to charity	91%
Average giving by high net worth households in 2015	$25,509
Average giving by general population households in 2015	$2,520

1. In 2020, total charitable giving in the United States reached $449.64 billion.
2. Of this, $292.09 billion was from individual donations, $56.11 billion from foundations, and $58.73 billion from corporations.
3. In 2020, the average charitable gift was $2,475.
4. In 2020, 72% of Americans made a charitable donation.
5. The largest recipient of charitable giving in 2020 was religious organizations, receiving $124.52 billion.

Recipient	Amount (in billion)
Religious organizations	$124.52
Educational organizations	$58.72
Health organizations	$50.62
Social service organizations	$44.65
Arts, culture, and humanities organizations	$18.42

Charitable Giving Benefits:

1. Charitable giving supports organizations and causes that make a positive impact in our communities.
2. Charitable giving allows individuals to align their gifts with their personal values and beliefs.
3. Charitable giving provides tax benefits to the donors, reducing their taxable income.
4. Charitable giving helps build a sense of community and fosters a culture of giving and generosity.

Corporate Giving Statistics

Statistic	Value
Corporate giving in 2021	$20.77 billion (an 8.0% increase from 2019)

Corporate Giving Trends & Developments

Statistic	Value
Companies with plans to expand workplace giving programs	39%
Nonprofits identifying workplace giving as a growth strategy	49%
Percentage of Russell 1000 companies with matching gift programs	11.8% growth in the last 3 years
Donors wanting flexibility in giving	97%
Nonprofits that can grow their corporate giving revenue	93%
Projected increase in matching gift revenue with auto-submission functionality	80%

Corporate Giving Technology Statistics

Statistic	Value
Largest provider of matching gift tools	Double the Donation (works with 78% of the largest nonprofits)
Investment in new CSR startups	$50 million in the last 2 years
Legacy CSR vendors for corporations	YourCause, CyberGrants, Benevity (power less than 25% of corporate giving programs)
Fastest-growing CSR vendors	Millie, Point, Selflessly, Givinga (integrations with Double the Donation)
Impact of matching gift software on nonprofits	77% more donations flagged as match-eligible, potential to double or triple matching gift revenue
Impact of 360MatchPro automation tools on nonprofits	61% increase in matching gift revenue

Corporate Giving Roadblocks

Statistic	Value
Percentage of individual donations matched	1.31%
Percentage of donors unaware if their company offers matching gifts	78%
Percentage of donors unsure of eligibility or how to submit matching gifts	16%
Percentage of donors who know their company offers matching gifts and are eligible	8%
Percentage of companies with more than one paragraph on matching gift programs	19%
Nonprofits facing difficulty building strong corporate partnerships	80%

Workplace Giving Statistics

Statistic	Value
Most sought-after corporate giving program by employees	Employee matching gift programs
Fortune 500 companies with matching gift programs	67% (growing for the last 3 years)
Individuals working for companies with matching gift programs	27 million
Amount raised through workplace giving annually	$5 billion
Estimated amount donated through matching gift programs annually	$2-3 billion
Unclaimed amount from matching gift programs annually	$4-7 billion
Corporate matches of employee donations	12% of total corporate cash contributions

Online Giving Trends

Statistic	Value
Overall revenue from online fundraising in 2017	23% growth
Online giving in 2017	12.1% growth
Online giving year-over-year growth	2012: $19.2 billion, 2013: $21.2 billion, 2014: $24.1 billion, 2015: $25.8 billion, 2016: $27.8 billion, 2017: $31 billion
Preferred method of giving online	54% credit/debit card, 11% direct mail, 11% cash, 10% bank/wire transfer, 9% Paypal, 4% mobile app/wallet, 1% text message
Average online donation amount	$128
Average annual donation total for recurring donors	$326

Charitable Giving Trends:

1. The trend of online giving continues to grow, with 46% of all charitable donations made online in 2020.
2. Donors are increasingly interested in making gifts that have a long-term impact and are sustainable.
3. There has been a shift towards impact investing, where donors seek to invest in organizations and causes that have a positive social and environmental impact.
4. Donors are increasingly interested in giving to causes that align with their personal values and beliefs.
5. There has been a shift towards personalized giving, where donors seek to tailor their gifts to the specific needs of organizations and causes.

Charitable Giving Adoption:

1. In 2020, 72% of Americans made a charitable donation.
2. Of those who made a charitable donation, 46% made their gift online.
3. In 2020, 35% of all charitable donations were made through workplace giving campaigns.
4. In 2020, 46% of charitable gifts were made to religious organizations.
5. In 2020, 19% of charitable gifts were made to educational organizations.

Charitable Giving Demographics:

1. In 2020, individuals aged 45-54 were the most likely to make a charitable donation, with 76% of individuals in this age group making a gift.
2. In 2020, individuals with a household income of $100,000 or more were the most likely to make a charitable donation, with 84% of individuals in this income group making a gift.
3. In 2020, individuals with a college degree were the most likely to make a charitable donation, with 78% of individuals with a college degree making a gift.

Facebook for Nonprofits

Statistic	Value
% of donors who gave through Facebook fundraising tools	18%
% of donors likely to give through Facebook in future	88%
% of marketers who consider Facebook critical/important	42%
% of social marketers who use Facebook regularly	93%
% of traffic referred to donation pages on #GivingTuesday	29.4%
% of mobile donation traffic on GivingTuesday from Facebook	Over 29%
% of donations referred from average peer-to-peer campaign	15-18%
% of Facebook users who share to show support for a cause	84%
Daily watch time growth of Facebook Live broadcasts	4x
Average increase in engagement on Thursdays and Fridays	18%
Average daily updates shared by nonprofits	1.2

Twitter for Nonprofits

Statistic	Value
% of online adults 18-29 who use Twitter	36%
% of active users who access Twitter via mobile	80%
Time consumers expect brands to respond (in hours)	1 hour 24 minutes
Average time for brand response (in hours)	1 hour 24 minutes
% of people who take action after engaging with nonprofits on Twitter	55%
Increase in visitors to donation pages on Giving Tuesday	700%
% of Twitter users who feel positive about a brand after reply	77%
Boost in customer satisfaction from companies using Twitter for customer service	19%
Increase in click throughs for tweets with images	18%
Increase in likes for tweets with images	89%
Increase in retweets for tweets with images	150%
% of pastors who use Twitter	23%
% of churches who use Twitter	21%
% of churches with average attendance > 250 who use Twitter	44%
% of those actively involved in church who use Twitter	9%

YouTube for Nonprofits

Statistic	Value
% of 18-49 year-olds who watch YouTube in a typical month	80%
% of premium online video watched by millennials on YouTube	2/3
% of YouTube views from mobile devices	Over half
Average length of mobile viewing session (in minutes)	Over 40
Length of most viewed brand videos (in seconds)	31-60
Decrease in time spent watching TV by 18-49 year-olds in 2015	4%
Increase in time spent on YouTube by 18-49 year-olds in 2015	74%
% of nonprofits on YouTube	28%
Number of nonprofit videos viewed in 2016	6 billion
% of people who make a donation after watching nonprofit videos	57%
% of nonprofit video watchers who view similar videos within 30 days	68%

Instagram for Nonprofits

Statistic	Value
% of nonprofits who use Instagram	37%
% of online adults 18-29 who use Instagram	60%
% of Instagram users who take action after looking at an advertising post	75%
% of Instagram users who make > $75,000 per year	26%

Charitable Giving Software:

1. Charitable giving software is designed to make the process of making a gift simple, efficient, and secure.
2. Charitable giving software integrates with other systems and provides valuable data and insights to organizations and causes.

Charitable Giving Opportunities:

1. Charitable giving provides an opportunity for individuals to make a positive impact in their communities.
2. Charitable giving provides an opportunity for organizations to build stronger relationships with their donors.
3. Charitable giving provides an opportunity for organizations to align their gifts with their personal values and beliefs.
4. Charitable giving provides an opportunity for organizations to benefit from tax deductions.
5. Charitable giving provides an opportunity for organizations to leverage technology to streamline the giving process.

Email & Direct Mail Statistics

Metric	Result
Email results in 1/3 of online fundraising revenue	Email messaging drove 28% of all online revenue in 2017
68% of donors trust .org domain extension for websites & email addresses
Lowest share of revenue from email: Public Media (10%)	Highest share of revenue from email: Wildlife/Animal Welfare nonprofits (57%)
Email list size growth: 2015 (15%), 2016 (14%), 2017 (11%)	Public Media nonprofits saw 41% growth in list size in 2017; International was the only sector to experience a decline (-8%)
Average fundraising from 1,000 emails sent: $17	Average number of emails sent per subscriber in 2017: 66 (11% increase from 2016)
Largest category of email messages: fundraising (25 emails per subscriber per year)	Most emails sent by sector: Environmental nonprofits (89 per subscriber)
Lowest volume of emails sent by sector: Health (38 per subscriber)

Advocacy Email Results

Metric	Result
Response rate	Declined 9% in 2017 to 2.2%
Open rate	Down 1% to 15%
Click-through rate	Down 1% to 2.5%
Page completion rate	Down 4% to 76%
Unsubscribe rate	Fell to 0.12%, 13% lower than previous year

Fundraising Email Results

Metric	Result
Response rate	Declined 6% in 2017 to 0.06%
Open rate	Down 1% to 15%
Click-through rate	Down 6% to 0.42%
Page completion rate	Down 6% to 16%
Unsubscribe rate	Fell to 0.18%, 3% lower than previous year

Direct Mail & Digital

Metric	Result
Touchpoints to reach customer for first time	18-20
Percentage visiting website before calling	90%
Percentage leaving without making a purchase	96%
Conversion rate with direct mail & digital ads	28% higher
Response rate lift with direct mail & digital media compared to direct mail only	118%
Conversion rate of retargeted website visitors	70% higher
Percentage of customers returning through retargeting	26%

Charitable Giving Challenges:

1. Charitable giving can be a time-consuming process for individuals and organizations.
2. Charitable giving requires a high level of trust between organizations and their donors.
3. Charitable giving can be complex, with many rules and regulations to follow.
4. Charitable giving can be competitive, with organizations vying for a limited pool of resources.
5. Charitable giving can be affected by economic conditions and changes in government policies.

FAQ:

1. What is charitable giving? Charitable giving is the act of making a donation to an organization or cause that is tax-deductible.
2. Why is charitable giving important? Charitable giving is important because it supports organizations and causes that make a positive impact in our communities. It also allows individuals to align their gifts with their personal values and beliefs.
3. Who can make a charitable donation? Anyone can make a charitable donation, regardless of their age, income, or education level.
4. What types of organizations can I donate to? You can donate to any organization that is classified as a tax-exempt charity under the Internal Revenue Code. This includes religious organizations, educational organizations, health organizations, social service organizations, and arts, culture, and humanities organizations.
5. Is charitable giving tax-deductible? Yes, charitable giving is tax-deductible, as long as the donation is made to an organization that is classified as a tax-exempt charity under the Internal Revenue Code.

In conclusion, charitable giving plays a vital role in our society, supporting organizations and causes that make a positive impact in our communities. By understanding charitable giving statistics, trends, adoption, benefits, and challenges, organizations and individuals can make informed decisions about how they support the causes they care about most. Whether through individual donations, workplace giving campaigns, or other methods, charitable giving is a powerful way to create lasting change in our world.