Giving USA 2009 Press Release

Giving USA released its 2009 report
Although charitable giving in the United States exceeded $300 billion for the second year in a row in 2008, donations to charitable causes in the United States show a 2% percent drop in current dollars over 2007. The 2008 number, estimated at $307.65 billion, is the first decline in giving in current dollars since 1987 and the biggest percentage decline since 1974.

“The fact that charitable giving was still more than 2 percent of GDP in 2008 is a bright spot in an otherwise negative climate for donations,” said Nancy L. Raybin, chair of Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits, which created Giving USA Foundation in 1985. “The Institute has been active in examining ways to move contributions upward, and it looks like the American public agrees with us that charitable giving is an integral part of the country’s economic fabric.”

Read the Giving USA 2009 press release for more details.