Giving USA report shows donations stagnant for 2018

• Date: 01 August 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30636
• Published date: 01 August 2019

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR AUGUST 2019

6© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Nonprot Research

Giving USA report shows donations stagnant for 2018

Donations from America’s individuals, estates,

foundations and corporations reached an estimated

$427.7 billion in 2018, according to the latest Giving

USA report compiled by the Giving USA Foundation.

That’s an increase of just 0.7% measured in cur-

rent dollars over the revised total of $424.74 billion

contributed in 2017, which set a high-water mark

after several years of record-breaking totals. When

adjusted for ination, total giving for 2018 declined

1.7%, the report showed.

According to the report’s authors, the stagnation

in giving levels could be due to a number of fac-

tors. First, even though personal incomes generally

improved throughout the year for donors across

the country, an abrupt stock market decline late in

the year may have had a dampening effect, as many

people leave their charitable giving until the last few

months of the year.

A change in tax policy also likely had a signicant

impact on donations. Because the tax overhaul passed

by Congress in December 2017 doubled the standard

deduction, many households opted not to itemize

their deductions in 2018 and, therefore, likely saw

little nancial incentive to donate to charity.

In fact, according to the Giving USA report, more

than 45 million households itemized deductions in

2016. But studies suggest that number may have

dropped to between 16 and 20 million households in

2018, the report said.

Some highlights from the report include:

• Giving by foundations increased by an estimated

7.3%, to $75.86 billion in 2018 (an increase of 4.7%,

adjusted for ination). According to the data, this

category had a record-breaking year, reaching its

highest-ever dollar amount even when adjusted for

ination, and growing to its largest share (18%) of

total giving to date in 2018.

• Giving by individuals totaled an estimated $292.09

billion, declining 1.1% in 2018 (a decrease of 3.4%,

adjusted for ination). Giving in this category also

decreased as a percentage of total giving in 2018 to

68% (down from 70% in 2017), despite achieving its

third-highest total dollar amount on record, adjusted

for ination.

• Giving by corporations is estimated to have in-

creased by 5.4% in 2018, totaling $20.05 billion (an

increase of 2.9%, adjusted for ination). According to

the report, this reects the nature of corporate giving,

which is highly responsive to changes in corporate

pretax dollars and GDP.

• Giving by bequest totaled an estimated $39.71 bil-

lion in 2018, remaining at, with a 0.0% increase from

2017 (a 2.3% decline when adjusted for ination).

For the charitable organizations receiving contri-

butions, 2018 was a mixed bag, depending on their

program area. More specically:

• International affairs and environment and

animal organizations were the two types of recipient

organizations that experienced substantial growth

in giving in 2018. Giving to human services; health;

and arts, culture and humanities organizations stayed

relatively at in 2018 in current dollars, and did not

keep pace with ination.

• Giving to religious organizations and public-

society benet organizations both decreased in 2018,

after experiencing several years of growth.

According to the report, uctuations in giving

levels—in terms of who gives, how much and to

whom they give it—are to be expected. While some

of the factors impacting giving in 2018 reect long-

term trend lines—for example, fewer Americans are

identifying as religious, so donations to churches and

afliated groups are expected to continue dropping—

others can, and likely will, change in 2019. The stock

market’s performance—and that of the economy as

a whole—will continue to dictate giving levels for

many, the report noted.

And efforts are underway to draft tax policy

changes that would incentivize giving among those

who do not itemize deductions, which could have a

major impact. According to an analysis of several

possible policy tweaks conducted by the Independent

Sector, total charitable giving could swing up by as

much as $37 billion annually, depending on how ag-

gressive the incentives are.

For more information, or to access the report in full,

visit https://givingusa.org. ■

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Contact Nicholas King, Editor, at

nicholaskingllc@gmail.com