American giving hit $617 billion in 2025 — and the Paul Allen effect exposes who’s really driving it

U.S. charitable giving rose 3% in 2025, surpassing $600 billion for the first time. The $617 billion that Americans gave to everything from churches to cat rescues was the second-highest ever in inflation-adjusted terms, but it fell short of the record set in 2021, when there was a burst of social services giving in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth was slightly faster than the long-term annual average of 2.7%, thanks to the nation’s relatively strong – if mixed – economy. While the stock market performed well in 2025 and personal income rose, consumer sentiment was extremely low and inflation remained above the Fed’s 2% target. As part of my job researching trends in philanthropy and nonprofits, I’ve been the lead analyst for over a decade of this annual report from the Giving USA Foundation, produced in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In recent years it’s grown clearer that as giving grows, the kinds of donations the wealthy favor are gaining ground. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Bequests and foundations led overall growth Charitable bequests – gifts to causes that happen after someone dies – represented about 10% of all U.S. giving in 2025, up from 9% in 2024. They grew by 16.6% to $62 billion in 2025, faster than all other sources of donations. Bequeathed gifts have exceeded $50 billion every year since 2022, growing significantly in three of the past four years. There are several possible reasons for this increase. One is the impending passing of tens of trillions of dollars in wealth from people over 65 to their younger heirs, often called the “great wealth transfer.” However, the total value of charitable beques