Donors Came Through for US Charities, to Tune of $617B

In a year marked by economic uncertainty and political turbulence, philanthropic donations rose in 2025, according to an authoritative annual report on American giving. Donors gave $617 billion to US charities last year, an inflation-adjusted 3% increase over the previous year, according to "Giving USA 2026: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2025," per the AP. Bequests last year jumped by nearly 17%, the third year of the last four to clock double-digit increases in this form of giving. The trend could signal the beginning of the long-predicted "Great Wealth Transfer," in which baby boomers begin passing their enormous wealth to their children and charities.

Overall, giving increased among all categories: corporations, living individuals, bequests, and foundations. A strong stock market and economic growth contributed to the uptick, despite upheaval caused by federal cuts, says Wendy McGrady, chair of Giving USA. All donor types stepped up to give amid the turmoil, McGrady notes, because charities made their needs known. "Those that were effective in sharing their story saw their donors respond," McGrady says.

All types of donors increased their giving in 2025, and giving to most causes also rose. Education nonprofits saw an 8.9% uptick, groups in the "public-society benefit" category had an 8.7% increase, and environment and animal nonprofits were up 8.2%. Smaller increases were seen for charities with missions involving arts, culture, and humanities (4.7%), health (3.3%), human services (2.6%), and international (1.4%). However, giving to religious groups was marginally lower, down 0.2% when adjusted for inflation.

While Giving USA doesn't measure the number of donors who give, over the years the share of dollars from individuals has decreased. In 1985, 80% of dollars came from individuals; now it's just 64%. Big donors loom large in one category—megagifts, which are defined as contributions that exceed 0.1% of total giving that year. In 2025, megagifts (those amounting to $600 million or more) amounted to $19.2 billion, roughly 4% of all dollars given by individuals. While the news from Giving USA was mostly positive, there were some lackluster figures. Corporate giving was up only half a percent. More here.