CLICK BELOW TO REDISCOVER HUMANITY

A DECADE+ OF STORYTELLING POWERED BY THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET

Fewer Americans Giving To Charity – Yet Total Donations At A Record Level

File 20180628 117382 1ndv5qh.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1
Charitable giving hit record levels in 2017. pinkomelet/Sshutterstock.com

Una Osili, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Sasha Zarins, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

Following years of steady growth that has tracked the performance of a generally healthy economy, U.S. charitable giving has reached an all-time high at a time when the share of Americans who make donations is falling.

But as a lead researcher and an author of the latest Giving USA report, which the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy researches and writes in partnership with the Giving USA Foundation, we are concerned that some Americans may become less generous overall as the new tax law alters long-standing incentives to give.

The latest data

The money Americans gave to charity last year to support everything from disaster recovery efforts and environmental causes to higher education institutions amounted to about 2.1 percent of gross domestic product – a share that has barely budged in the past four decades.

All told, American individuals, estates, corporations and foundations gave a total of US$410 billion in 2017 to nonprofits, faith-based organizations and other charities, according to the Giving USA 2018 report. That marked a $20 billion increase from 2016. Adjusted for inflation, giving grew 3 percent.

At the same, the share of households making donations is decreasing, especially for the middle class.

We found this out through the Lilly School’s Philanthropy Panel Study. Part of the University of Michigan’s Panel Study of Income Dynamics, it tracks the same households over time.

While more than two-thirds of Americans donated to charity in 2000, only 55.5 percent gave in 2014, according to this ongoing research.

Why has giving continued to grow, at least for now, despite this decline?

The simple explanation is that the Americans who do make donations are giving more money away. In 2000, the families who donated gave a total average of $2,041 in current dollars. This average sum rose to $2,514 in 2014, in current dollars.

Sensing trouble ahead

Conditions in 2017 were favorable for charitable giving to reach an all-time high despite those trends.

Among other things, the pace of economic growth picked up from 2016, the stock market boomed and the large number of hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters inspired more fundraising for humanitarian relief than usual.

We are concerned that the flow of charitable donations, especially from low-income and middle-class Americans, may shrink. The main reason for this is that the new tax law may pare the number of people who get a tax break on the money they give away.

The ConversationDonors, scholars and policymakers are unsure about how exactly giving will change due to the new tax law. But relevant research suggests that taking the charitable tax deduction away from millions of taxpayers may reduce their donations overall.

Una Osili, Professor, Economics and Philanthropic Studies, Associate Dean for Research and International Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Sasha Zarins, Project Coordinator, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

CLICK HERE TO GET TODAY'S BEST WRITING ON THE PLANET DELIVERED TONIGHT

THE CONVERSATION
THE CONVERSATIONhttps://theconversation.com/us
THE CONVERSATION US launched as a pilot project in October 2014. It is an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community, delivered direct to the public. Our team of professional editors work with university and research institute experts to unlock their knowledge for use by the wider public. We aim to help rebuild trust in journalism. All authors and editors sign up to our Editorial Charter. All contributors must abide by our Community Standards policy. We only allow authors to write on a subject on which they have proven expertise, which they must disclose alongside their article. Authors’ funding and potential conflicts of interest must also be disclosed. Failure to do so carries a risk of being banned from contributing to the site. The Conversation started in Melbourne Victoria and the innovative technology platform and development team is based in the university and research precinct of Carlton. Our newsroom is based in Boston but our team is part of a global newsroom able to share content across sites and around the world. The Conversation US is a non-profit educational entity.​

DO YOU HAVE THE "WRITE" STUFF? If you’re ready to share your wisdom of experience, we’re ready to share it with our massive global audience – by giving you the opportunity to become a published Contributor on our award-winning Site with (your own byline). And who knows? – it may be your first step in discovering your “hidden Hemmingway”. LEARN MORE HERE


TIME FOR A "JUST BE." MOMENT?

TAKE STROLL INSIDE 360° NATION

ENJOY OUR FREE EVENTS

BECAUSE WE'RE BETTER TOGETHER