U.S. Charitable Giving

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We gave more in '24

Data: Giving USA Foundation/Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Chart: Axios Visuals Charitable donations in the U.S. hit $592.5 billion in 2024. The big picture: That's a 3.3% jump from 2023 and the second-highest inflation-adjusted total ever recorded, according to a new report from the Giving USA Foundation and Indiana University's School of Philanthropy. ? Zoom in: Donations to nearly every cause grew, from education to environment to the arts. Individuals were the leading source of giving, donating $392 billion last year and topping the total gifts of foundations and corporations. Religious causes received the greatest share of donations — 23%. Zoom out: The rise in giving was supported by the 2.8% growth in the economy last year, researchers at Indiana University write in The Conversation. It also helped that 2024 was a banner year for the stock market and personal incomes rose, they note. ? Flashback: The highest annual giving total ($644 billion) was recorded in 2021, when the pandemic triggered a surge in donations. This year saw the fastest pace of growth in giving since that Covid-era spike.

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Warren Buffett announces $6 billion in donations to five foundations

NEW YORK (AP) — Famed investor Warren Buffett is donating $6 billion worth of his company’s stock to five foundations, bringing the total he has given to them since 2006 to roughly $60 billion, based on their value when received.

https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-donation-charity-gates-foundation-e0d89b0cb2ce6cf8d41547b080d062e6?

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? Record $2 billion donation

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are giving $2 billion to a cancer institute named after them at Oregon Health & Science University. Why it matters: The megagift is believed to be the largest single donation in higher education history. It surpasses Michael Bloomberg's $1.8 billion donation to Johns Hopkins in 2018. Go deeper.

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Dolly Parton's legacy sparks a giving wave

A portrait of Dolly Parton fills a 5-acre corn maze at Twins BBQ Co. in Brookfield, Conn., on Sept. 13. Photo: Ted Shaffrey/AP Dolly Parton spent her life giving back to children and their communities. Since her death, her fans have been carrying on that legacy. It's the Dolly effect: In cities across America, people are donating their time and money, expanding Dolly's Imagination Library — her book-gifting program for kids — and starting projects of their own. 📚 The big picture: Dolly started the Imagination Library in 1995 to honor her father, who couldn't read or write. The program sends over 3 million free books to children across five countries each month — and organizations and individuals are building on that legacy to reach even more. In Florida, Virginia, Ohio and elsewhere, Imagination Library affiliates have seen a surge in both donations and registrations since the star's passing on Aug. 25. In Houston, public libraries are working with the Imagination Library of Greater Houston to help more families sign up their children. In West Virginia, literacy nonprofit Read Aloud West Virginia is matching this month's donations to local Imagination Library affiliates when donors write "in memory of Dolly" with their contributions. In London, Dolly's Imagination Library is doubling the number of boroughs it covers. 🎸 What's next: This Friday — 9/25, a nod to Dolly's "9 to 5" movie — will be the first annual Give Like Dolly Day, created by The Dollywood Foundation to encourage people around the world to support children's literacy. One Nashville honky-tonk is giving 100% of Friday's sales to the Imagination Library and Nashville Public Libraries.