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How America gives: Who funds what causes and where?

Cover image design from 'Dollars and change' report from Candid Research and GivingTuesday.

According to 2023 IRS data, there are about 1.9 million registered nonprofits in the United States vying for charitable giving from individual donors and institutional grantmakers. What do we know about the causes and states each type of funding flows to and the factors that affect giving trends?  

In this article, we highlight key insights from our report, Dollars and Change: A Look at Individual and Institutional Giving Across the United States From 2015 to 2022, which combines data from Candid, GivingTuesday, and Network for Good.  

Who gives to what causes?  

Both individual and institutional giving increased between 2015 and 2022, not only in terms of total dollars awarded but also in terms of average donation or grant size. There are marked differences, however, in the causes individual donors and institutional grantmakers prioritize. Each year, the largest share of individual giving supported human services organizations (including organizations providing essential services like food and shelter)—on average 33% of total individual giving, compared with 14% of total institutional grant dollars. By contrast, the largest share of institutional grant dollars supported education—on average 27%, compared with 19% of total individual giving.  

At the same time, the data reveals a downward trend in the share of dollars going to education, especially from institutional funders. This shift may reflect changing priorities or an increased focus on other pressing issues like public health and social services.

Bar graph of the share of individual giving by cause area and year (2015-2022). Arts and humanities stayed under 5% throughout; education decreased slightly from 20% to around 16%; environment and animals funding went from 5% to 7%; health stayed around 15%; human services increased from around 30% to 36%; foreign affairs stayed under 5%; public benefit hovered around 7-8%; religion-related giving gradually decreased from 13% to 10%.
Source: Data from GivingTuesday Fundraising Effectiveness Project. Cause area determined by recipient NTEE.
Bar chart of the share of institutional giving by cause and year (2015-2022). Arts and humanities giving stayed around 7%; education funding declined from 32% in 2015 to 24% in 2022; funding for environment and animals stayed under 5%; health funding fluctuated between 18% and 23%; human services increased from around 15% to 18%; foreign affairs stayed around 2-3%; public benefit funding increased from 16% to over 20% in 2020 and then went back down to 19%; religion-related giving stayed under 5% throughout.
Source: Data from Candid. Cause area determined by recipient NTEE.

The report also found that while most individuals make donations of $100 or less and most grantmakers award grants of $100,000 or less, the bulk of charitable funding comes from a small group of donors and grantmakers making large contributions.

Where do the dollars go?

Philanthropic dollars are not evenly distributed across the U.S. but concentrated among few states. California, New York, Florida, and Texas—which have the most nonprofits and the biggest populations—consistently receive the most in terms of total dollars, individual giving and institutional grants combined. When adjusted for population, however, Washington, D.C., receives far more charitable dollars per capita than any other state, followed by Nebraska. This suggests that certain areas, despite having smaller populations, have a thriving nonprofit sector. 

Line graph of the number of nonprofits by state. California has over 175K nonprofits, the highest of any state. Texas and New York are 2nd and 3rd highest, both having over 100K nonprofits each.  North Dakota, Arkansas, and Wyoming have the least number of nonprofits, under 10K each. DC has the highest number of nonprofits per 10,000 people by far, at over 200. Other states with a high count of nonprofits per 10,000 people are Iowa (almost 100) and Montana (slightly above 100).
Source: Data from Candid’s U.S. Social Sector Dashboard, accessed April 10, 2024. Based on nonprofits registered with the IRS and present on a calendar year 2021 Business Master File and the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2021, July 2021. 

Overall, states with higher median household incomes tend to receive more charitable donations. Conversely, states with higher poverty levels receive less, raising important questions about how equitable current methods of philanthropic distribution are.  

The economy’s role in individual giving and institutional grantmaking 

There is a strong correlation between the health of the U.S. economy and the amount of money flowing into the nonprofit sector. Specifically, factors such as household savings, disposable income, and especially stock market performance are strong predictors of overall giving.  

Inflation, however, has more of an immediate impact on institutional grantmaking than on individual giving. The data suggests institutional grantmakers may increase their giving to account for rising costs more often than individual donors. The largest donors, both individual and institutional, are the most sensitive to economic conditions.  

Looking ahead 

The report is a call to action for donors, nonprofits, and researchers to work toward a more equitable philanthropic sector. Its findings raise important questions for future research. Why is funding to the education sector not keeping pace with other sectors, and what are the implications for education nonprofits? How can philanthropy better support states with higher poverty levels and lower household incomes? It’s crucial to continue monitoring these trends and explore new ways to address disparities in philanthropic distribution.   

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  • NORMA MILTON says:

    September 24, 2024 12:17 pm

    Very interesting. Great facts. I love the breakdown and facts. Very helpful.