Modest Rise in US Giving

Giving USA Foundation and its research partner, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, says the increase in giving is up on the estimated  $280.30 billion for 2009.

Edith H. Falk, chair of Giving USA Foundation says the revised estimates show that 2008 and 2009 saw the largest drops in giving in more than 40 years as a result of the Great Recession, exceeding previous recessions’ impact on giving.

Falk says despite the fragile economic recovery, though, Americans continued–and even increased–their support of organizations and causes that matter to them in 2010.

The $10.59 billion increase in the estimated total suggests that giving is beginning to recover as the economy slowly climbs out of the recession.

As it does annually, Giving USA revised its 2008 and 2009 estimates as the IRS revised and released its 2008 and 2009 giving estimates, which are used in Giving USA's estimating process.

Thomas  Mesaros, the chair of Giving Institute says charitable donations of $290 billion are very significant in a still-uncertain economy and the estimates indicate that people across the US continued to care deeply about philanthropy in 2010.

Total giving grew by 2.1 percent last year after adjusting for inflation.

That’s good news following a combined drop of over 13 percent in 2008 and 2009, according to Patrick Rooney,the executive director of the Center on Philanthropy.

But, he says,  the sobering reality is that many Not for Profits are still hurting, and if giving continues to grow at that rate, it will take five to six more years just to return to the level of giving we saw before the Great Recession.

Giving USA has reported U.S. charitable contributions since 1956. The national results from Giving USA estimate all charitable giving to all charitable organizations in the United States.

For more information go to www.givingusareports.org.