Giving USA 2025: Highlights and Takeaways

If summer’s just begun, it’s time for Giving USA and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University to share its data on U.S. philanthropy.  

Yesterday’s release, Giving USA 2025: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2024, showed that overall charitable giving totaled $592.50 billion in 2024, which is an increase of 6.3% over 2023 (adjusted for inflation, that’s a 3.3% increase). 

This is good news for nonprofits, many which are under pressure to raise even more contributed income this year in light of pullbacks in federal funding. The data underscores that even during times of fiscal and political uncertainty, as long as economic elements remain strong (i.e., strong financial markets, no recession), many Americans are still as philanthropic as ever.

Digging in: What’s behind the data?

As a nonprofit fundraiser, what matters most? 

1. Individual giving still leads the way, with 66% of all donations. When you add bequests (8%) and the fact that roughly half of foundation giving (19%) comes from smaller family foundations, or essentially individuals, it’s clear that this segment is the most important for nonprofits. And this segment is only growing! For context, individual giving grew by 8.2% over 2023 giving (5.1% adjusted for inflation), which is a healthy boost in year-over-year donations.
2. Corporate giving edged up to 7% of total giving, which is as high as it’s ever been in the past 40 years. Companies may have also felt more flush because of the solid economy. We’ve also seen companies reimagining their support: workplace giving now often includes remote workers and nontraditional employees, and some match more dollars and volunteer hours.
3. Foundation assets continue to grow; giving by foundations topped $100M for the third year in a row. Strong markets in recent years mean more funds to give, and foundations have been shifting in how they operate: more flexible grants, more general operating support, and increased payout rates. 
4. Subsectors that grew the most in 2024 recovered from drops in giving in 2023. Giving to education, health, arts, and environment/animals reached record highs in 2024, even when adjusted for inflation. That’s good news for fundraisers in those organizations that were still struggling in 202,3 as other sectors saw their giving jump or at least stabilize. 

What are the takeaways?

1. Stay focused on individuals: With individuals continuing to drive all U.S. giving, you must keep identifying new donors, engage them in new and different ways, and work to understand their motivations for giving if you want to see growth. 
2. Lines are starting to blur between individuals, who often want to see metrics and defined impact, and foundations, which are embracing more trust-based giving and relationships to identify prospective grantees. So, your ties with donors and program officers are now more important than ever! Double down on storytelling, stay donor-centric in your communications, and know who your donors are -- institutional or individual.
3. Don’t waste any time! The economy is still solid now and many donors are feeling confident because markets are up. Stay busy this summer and fall connecting with your midlevel and major donors so that when 2025 starts drawing to a close, you’ve had several touchpoints with them and they understand what’s going on with your organization. If the economic tides turn, the development picture may change too.