Giving to U.S. charities decreased in 2022, following two years of record generosity. After adjusting for inflation, the total giving of $499 billion was down 10.5% from 2021. This was among the steepest drops in giving in decades.

When adjusted for inflation, giving to religion did not fare as badly. It declined by 2.6% to $144 billion in contributions for 2022. 

These numbers were released on June 20, 2023. They come from the annual estimate of contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations detailed in Giving USA 2023: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2022, a publication of Giving USA Foundation, 2023, researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. 

The report identified 2022 as one of the worst years in U.S. philanthropy history. The 10.5% inflation-adjusted drop in total charitable giving marked only the fourth time donations have fallen since Giving USA started keeping track in 1956. The other major downturn years were 1987, after the stock market fell faster in a single day than at any other time in history, and 2008 and 2009, during the Great Recession.

"The main explanation for what we saw in 2022 was the economy. Giving trends are closely linked to economic conditions,” said Una Osili, who oversees “Giving USA” research at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. 

The report offered further details: First, it was hard to sustain the record generosity evidenced during the pandemic, which contained the best giving years in the report’s history. Second, giving was influenced by economic uncertainty—including disposable personal income that declined 7.5% when adjusted for inflation--and the stock market’s volatility and strong decline. Specifically, inflation of 8% in 2022 depressed giving by small-dollar donors, while significant stock-market losses prevented wealthier donors from giving further.

Perhaps most alarming in the report is that giving by individuals, who typically provide the lion’s share of all donations, fell by 13.4% after inflation. Donations from individuals accounted for just 64% of all gifts. The fourth year in a row such contributions made up less than 70% of all giving. 

However, "Religious congregations still by far the biggest recipient of American philanthropy," said Osili.

The Giving USA report narrowly defines “religion” as giving to houses of worship (of all types), religious denominations, and religious media. Each year the report acknowledges that if giving to all houses of worship were combined with giving to all religiously oriented charities, up to 75% of all charitable giving could be considered religious.

For more insight on U.S. charitable giving trends, see ECFA’s annual State of Giving report and webinar for free download at ECFA.org/StateOfGiving.