# Giving USA 2026: Where $617 Billion Actually Came From

The record total matters less than the shape: about three of every four dollars came from individuals.

## Key takeaways
- Americans gave $617.20 billion to charity in 2025, up 5.7% in current dollars and 3.0% after inflation, the first year total giving passed $600 billion (Giving USA 2026).
- Living individuals gave $394.2 billion, 63.9% of the total. Counting bequests, individuals supplied 74% of all giving.
- Bequests were the fastest-growing source, up 19.7% to $62.19 billion. Corporations gave $43.67 billion, 7.1% of the total and roughly flat after inflation.
- By cause, education (up 11.7%), public-society benefit (up 11.6%), and environment and animals (up 11.0%) grew fastest, while religion stayed the largest at $151.58 billion.
- The record is in dollars, not donors: the donor base shrank 3.6% in 2025 (Fundraising Effectiveness Project), so the shape argues for individual donors and retention, not for chasing institutional money.

Americans gave $617.20 billion to charity in 2025, the first year total giving passed $600 billion, according to [Giving USA 2026](https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-charitable-giving-rose-to-617-20-billion-in-2025-surpassing-the-600-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/). The total makes the headlines, but the split is what a small organization can plan against: living individuals gave 63.9% of it, individuals plus their estates gave 74%, and corporations gave 7.1%. American philanthropy is a story about people, and the record year did not change that.

## What did Giving USA 2026 report?

Giving USA, researched by the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, estimates aggregate private giving to U.S. charities each year. The 2026 edition covers calendar 2025: $617.20 billion in total giving, up 5.7% in current dollars and 3.0% adjusted for inflation, with growth across all four sources. The report counts private philanthropy to 501(c)(3) organizations, so it excludes government funding and earned revenue, the other legs many budgets stand on.

**$617.2B** — given to U.S. charities in 2025, up 5.7% in current dollars and 3.0% after inflation, the first year over $600 billion ([Giving USA 2026](https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-charitable-giving-rose-to-617-20-billion-in-2025-surpassing-the-600-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/))

> **A record in current dollars**
>
> The $617.20 billion record is a current-dollar figure. After inflation, growth was 3.0%, solid rather than spectacular, and several subsectors rather than the total set inflation-adjusted highs. Read the record as steady growth, not a windfall.

## Where did the $617 billion come from?

Four sources, and they are nowhere near equal. Individuals gave $394.2 billion. Foundations granted $117.15 billion. Estates gave $62.19 billion through bequests. Corporations gave $43.67 billion.

U.S. charitable giving by source, 2025 (Giving USA 2026)

| Segment | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Individuals | 394.2 |
| Foundations | 117.15 |
| Bequests | 62.19 |
| Corporations | 43.67 |

Giving by source, 2025, in current dollars (Giving USA 2026)

| Source | Amount | Share of total | Change from prior year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Individuals | $394.2 billion | 63.9% | Up 4.1% |
| Foundations | $117.15 billion | 19.0% | Up 5.7% |
| Bequests | $62.19 billion | 10.1% | Up 19.7% |
| Corporations | $43.67 billion | 7.1% | Up 3.1% |

Two lines in that table deserve a second look. Bequests grew 19.7%, the largest increase of any source, which is why legacy giving belongs in even a small organization's plan. And corporate giving, at 7.1% of the total and roughly flat after inflation, is the smallest slice by a wide margin, whatever impression sponsorship logos give.

**74%** — of all 2025 giving came from individuals once bequests are counted with gifts from the living ([IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy](https://philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/news-events/news/_news/2026/giving-usa-report-2026.html))

## Where did the money go?

Religion remained the largest destination at $151.58 billion, though it was roughly flat once inflation is counted. The fastest growth came elsewhere: education, public-society benefit, and environment and animal organizations each grew more than 10% in current dollars. Gifts to grantmaking foundations fell 16.2%, the one decline in the table, which mostly tracks the timing of very large gifts by a small number of wealthy donors.

Giving by recipient subsector, 2025, in current dollars (Giving USA 2026)

| Recipient | Amount | Change from prior year |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Religion | $151.58 billion | Up 2.4% |
| Human services | $99.50 billion | Up 5.3% |
| Education | $92.01 billion | Up 11.7% |
| Gifts to grantmaking foundations | $79.05 billion | Down 16.2% |
| Public-society benefit | $72.06 billion | Up 11.6% |
| Health | $61.43 billion | Up 6.1% |
| International affairs | $33.02 billion | Up 4.1% |
| Arts, culture, and humanities | $27.31 billion | Up 7.5% |
| Environment and animals | $24.57 billion | Up 11.0% |

## What should a small organization take from the shape?

Ignore the total and plan against the split. About three of every four dollars given in America traces to individuals, living or through their estates. If a development plan spends most of its energy on corporate sponsorships and grant applications while treating individual donors as an afterthought, it is aimed at the smaller slices. Institutional money is real and worth pursuing, but the [grassroots and major donor](https://donorinsights.com/articles/grassroots-vs-major) work is where the sector's dollars actually are.

The bequest line is the quiet opportunity. A 19.7% jump in a single year made bequests the growth story of the report, and the donors who leave them are the loyal, long-tenured givers already on the file. An organization with no legacy sentence in its receipts and newsletter is absent from the fastest-growing source of giving in America.

And the record needs its caveat: the dollars set a record while the donors did not. The donor base shrank 3.6% in 2025, a fifth straight year of decline, and overall retention sat at 43.3%, according to the [Fundraising Effectiveness Project](https://afpglobal.org/news/fundraising-effectiveness-project-reports-strongest-revenue-growth-five-years-even-fewer). Growth is concentrating in larger gifts from fewer people. For any one organization, the difference between sharing in the record and missing it is mostly [donor retention](https://donorinsights.com/articles/donor-retention-rate), not the national climate.

**3.6%** — decline in the number of donors in 2025, a fifth straight year of shrinkage, while total dollars set a record ([Fundraising Effectiveness Project, Q4 2025](https://afpglobal.org/news/fundraising-effectiveness-project-reports-strongest-revenue-growth-five-years-even-fewer))

## How do you turn the sector map into a plan?

1. Budget against the shape: put individual giving first in the plan, since that is where roughly three of every four sector dollars come from.
2. Make retention a named line in the plan with its own target, because the sector's donor counts are falling even as dollars rise.
3. Add the legacy sentence to receipts and the newsletter, so the fastest-growing source of giving has somewhere to land on your file.
4. Treat corporate money as a complement, sized to its 7.1% share, not as the plan's base.
5. Read your own file's split by source and donor type before adopting anyone else's strategy, including the [year-end season's](https://donorinsights.com/articles/year-end-giving) conventional wisdom.

The national map tells you where the sector's money is. Your own file tells you where yours is. Donor Insights reads your giving records and rebuilds the same split, by source, donor type, and tenure, on your own numbers, so the plan starts from your file's shape rather than the sector's. The [methodology](https://donorinsights.com/methodology) starts from your gifts and contacts, and the national numbers become the backdrop instead of the plan.

## FAQ

**How much did Americans give to charity in 2025?**

$617.20 billion, up 5.7% in current dollars and 3.0% after inflation, the first year total giving passed $600 billion (Giving USA 2026).

**What share of charitable giving comes from individuals?**

Living individuals gave $394.2 billion in 2025, 63.9% of the total. Counting the $62.19 billion given through bequests, individuals supplied 74% of all giving.

**What was the fastest-growing source of giving in 2025?**

Bequests, up 19.7% in current dollars to $62.19 billion, the largest increase of any of the four sources (Giving USA 2026).

**How much do corporations actually give?**

Corporate giving was $43.67 billion in 2025, 7.1% of total giving and roughly flat after inflation. It is the smallest of the four sources by a wide margin.

**Does the record mean fundraising is getting easier?**

No. The dollars set a record while the donor base shrank 3.6% for a fifth straight year and retention sat at 43.3% (Fundraising Effectiveness Project). Growth is concentrating in larger gifts from fewer people, which makes retention more decisive for any one organization, not less.

## Sources
- [Giving USA 2026 press release: charitable giving rose to $617.20 billion in 2025](https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-charitable-giving-rose-to-617-20-billion-in-2025-surpassing-the-600-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/)
- [IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Giving USA 2026 announcement](https://philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/news-events/news/_news/2026/giving-usa-report-2026.html)
- [AFP, Giving USA 2026: What Fundraisers Need to Know for Year-End](https://afpglobal.org/news/giving-usa-2026-what-fundraisers-need-know-year-end)
- [Candid, key takeaways from Giving USA on 2025 philanthropy trends](https://candid.org/blogs/philanthropy-trends-giving-usa/)
- [Fundraising Effectiveness Project, Q4 2025 report (AFP)](https://afpglobal.org/news/fundraising-effectiveness-project-reports-strongest-revenue-growth-five-years-even-fewer)

## Disclaimer

**Educational purpose.** This article is published for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not investment, financial, funding, donor, tax, legal, accounting, or fundraising advice, and reading it creates no advisory, fiduciary, or client relationship. Consult your own qualified professionals before making decisions.

**Not an offer.** Nothing here is an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy, sell, donate to, or fund any organization or security. Pray, Inc. DonorInsights.com is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, law firm, accounting firm, or fundraising counsel, and publishes only impersonal commentary of general and regular circulation.

**Public data, no guarantee.** Analyses of named organizations rely on public sources such as IRS Form 990 filings, an organization's own published materials, and reputable press. These sources are believed reliable but are not audited or independently verified by us. The content may contain errors or omissions and is provided "as is" with no warranties of accuracy, completeness, or currency.

**Opinions and estimates.** Donor-level and financial figures for named organizations are our inferences and opinions, including forward-looking projections that are not guarantees of future results.

**No affiliation.** Named organizations are independent and are not clients, affiliates, sponsors, or endorsers of DonorInsights.com. Third-party names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used only for identification and commentary. Links to third-party sites are not endorsements.

**No reliance.** We accept no liability for any action taken based on this content.

**Corrections.** This analysis reflects public sources available as of publication. If you are an organization discussed here, or any reader, and you believe a figure or statement is inaccurate, email hello@donorinsights.com and we will review it and correct any error promptly.

Your use of this site is governed by our [Terms of Use](https://donorinsights.com/terms).

Source: DonorInsights.com — https://donorinsights.com/articles/giving-usa-2026