US Charities Scored Big with $617 Billion in Donations
Even with everyone stressing about the economy, people really stepped up their giving last year. According to the latest Giving USA report, US charities pulled in a whopping $617 billion.
A huge highlight? Wills and estate gifts (bequests) shot up by almost 17%. It’s the third time in four years we’ve seen double-digit growth here, which means the massive “Great Wealth Transfer”—where Baby Boomers pass their cash down to kids and charities—might finally be kicking into gear.
Pretty much every group gave more: regular people, corporations, foundations, and estates. Wendy McGrady, the chair of Giving USA, mentioned that a strong stock market and economic growth definitely helped balance out the stress from federal budget cuts. She noted that charities that actually reached out and told their stories effectively saw a massive payoff from donors.
Where the Money Went Almost every cause saw a boost in 2025:
- Education: Up 8.9%
- Public-Society Benefit: Up 8.7%
- Environment & Animals: Up 8.2%
- Arts, Culture, & Humanities: Up 4.7%
- Health: Up 3.3%
- Human Services: Up 2.6%
- International Causes: Up 1.4%
- Religion: The only outlier—down just a tiny bit (0.2%) when you factor in inflation.
The Shift to Mega-Donors While total cash is up, the way it’s given is changing. Back in 1985, everyday individuals made up 80% of all donations; today, that’s down to 64%. Instead, ultra-wealthy “mega-gifts” ($600 million or more) are doing a lot of the heavy lifting, making up $19.2 billion of the total.
And if there was one disappointing stat in the mix, it was corporate giving—it barely budged, growing by just half a percent.