When it comes to charity, the citizens of the US have been on a record-breaking run over the last couple of years. Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns around the world causing major disruptions to businesses and everyday lives all around the world in 2020, a glut of donations to support fighting the coronavirus and racial justice efforts, boosted by record stock market gains, saw Americans give a record $471 billion to charity.
2020’s record giving was a 3.8% increase from the year before, up from the 2.8% increase in 2019, at a time when global economies were booming. Meanwhile, once again in 2022, the US retained its place as the world’s most charitable country.
So, with inflation levels soaring to a 40 year high, economic stimulus checks stopping and consumer spending cooling, will the record-breaking charity run in the US continue?
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that despite harsher economic times ahead, Americans will keep on giving. For one, who they give to and how they give have changed considerably over the last few years.
After a series of sex and racism scandals involving some big global charities like Amnesty and Oxfam, Americans looked at smaller charities to donate to. In 2021, total donations to small charity organizations increased by 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Additionally, in 2021 small organizations, with overall annual fundraising of below 1 million, received 17.8% of their overall fundraising from online giving.
Online giving has increased massively too. In 2020, online giving rose 20% from the year before. With the world now firmly more online than ever before, online giving and the act of making a donation at the click of a button will only continue to increase in 2022 and beyond.
Another trend on the rise is in how Americans donate is seen in Stock donations. What was once considered a highly complicated process, has evolved to be a much simpler process and more and more charities are learning how to accept stock donations in order to optimize their donation pool. And there is much room for growth there. Despite the fact that over half of Americans now own stock, more than a million charities and nonprofits in the US still do not access non-cash donations.
Although US citizens are being squeezed and inflation is set to rise further from its current multi-decade high, it seems that giving habits have changed which is to the benefit of charities all around the world. People in the US are more choosy about who they give to and how they give, but the giving hasn’t and will not stop (hopefully) in the world’s largest economy in 2022.
