Total Giving
According to Giving USA 2018: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2017, total charitable giving in the United States grew by 5.2 percent to $410.02 billion in 2017. This marks the highest total amount given in the 40 years Giving USA has tracked this data, both in current dollars and when adjusted for inflation.
With this milestone year, U.S. giving continues a steady growth trend over the past eight years, indicating a positive climate for philanthropy. Giving to every category of recipient organizations increased when measured in current dollars, except for international affairs, which dropped by 4.4 percent. Four subsectors (foundations; arts, culture and humanities; public-society benefit; and health) saw significant growth of 7 percent or more, with foundations leading the way with an impressive 15.5 percent growth over 2016.
What this Means for Health Organizations:
Giving to health increased by 7.3% in 2017, with a total of $38.27 billion—the highest amount the subsector has ever received in both current and inflation-adjusted terms, surpassing the previous year’s high of $33.14 billion. Growth for health organizations has increased for the past six years, at an average of 7.9 percent from 2013 – 2017. This growth rate well exceeds the growth rate of 4.3 percent in total giving across all subsectors for the same period.