The Pentera Blog
Giving USA: Bequest Gifts Outpace Other Sources of Charitable Giving in 2023
Charitable bequests grew by 4.8% last year, surpassing slower growth rates in giving by individuals, foundations, and corporations, according to Giving USA’s newly released report on charitable giving in 2023.
Bequests totaled $42.68 billion in 2023, up from $40.73 billion the year before, according to Giving USA 2024: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2023.
In all, bequests accounted for 8% of all charitable giving last year.
Total giving reached $557.16 billion last year, according to the report. While that figure represents a new record high in current dollars, adjusted for inflation, it remains below 2021’s all-time high of $552.51 billion and below 2022’s total of $546.61.
Giving USA further reported that giving by individuals reached $374.4 billion in 2023, up 1.6% from 2022. Foundations gave $103.53 billion, up 1.7%; and corporate giving totaled $36.55 billion, an increase of 1.1% from 2022.
Adjusted for inflation, only giving by bequest did not see a decline in 2023.
Religious organizations received the largest share of all charitable giving at $145.81 billion in 2023, followed by human services organizations at $88.84 billion and educational nonprofits at $87.69 billion. Adjusted for inflation, gifts to religious nonprofits were down 1% compared with 2022.
Gifts to foundations saw the largest increase compared with the previous year—growing by 10.8%. Public-Society Benefit organizations, which include donor-advised funds, saw the second largest year-over-year increase in gifts received, growing 7.2% compared with 2022. Gifts to educational nonprofits reached $87.69 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.7%.
Giving USA 2024: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2023 is a publication of Giving USA Foundation, 2024. It is researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
You can find the full report at givingusa.org.
