Giving USA's Report for Year 2024: A Q&A on Trends and Takeaways
- Betsy Chapin Taylor, FAHP
- Jul 9
- 5 min read
This Q&A captures key insights from a recent webinar featuring Accordant CEO Betsy Chapin Taylor and Virtuous Chief AI Officer Nathan Chappell, as they discussed Giving USA 2025: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2024.
Were you surprised by the data from Giving USA 2025: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2024?
Betsy: I expected the giving to be flat this year based on the tumultuous times we continue to live in. We have experienced a decline in trust, a contentious election and inflation. All those variables create a sense of uncertainty that can negatively impact philanthropy, and organizations must work harder to raise dollars in that environment. However, on the positive side, it is encouraging to see 2024 exceed the numbers from 2019 when we last had any “normalcy.” Hopefully this means we are back on track.
Nathan: I was also surprised. It is difficult to decouple the current distractions in 2025 from the 2024 data. Last year won’t be a good indicator for 2025; I expect the data to be worse based on how we are currently feeling vulnerable, and donors are in a “wait and see” posture. There is good news, however. We learned a lot from the Covid-19 era, and we understand the importance of building connections. The transactional giving trend of the past few years is hopefully changing given the increase in dollars raised. We cannot lose the powerful connections we have made as we forge ahead.
What insights do you have related to the sources of giving?
Betsy: While individual giving is at 66%, you must factor in the influence of individuals in the other sources of giving to get a true picture. More than 50% of foundations are family foundations that function like individual donors. Ninety percent of corporations are owned by single families. Bequests are made by individuals. When you view the sources of giving through the lens of individual relationships, we see the impact of personal connections is more important than ever.
Nathan: Seeing the dollars increase but the number of donors decrease concerns me. We are at risk of making giving less democratized if more money comes from fewer and fewer people. How much of a symbol of inequality is this depicting as we see the swing to larger gifts from a smaller concentration of donors?
What does the data around the recipients of charitable contributions tell us?
Betsy: As a firm focused solely on health care, Accordant is excited to see two bullish years of giving to the health sector. Health organizations need to continue to present compelling cases to engage donors and continue their interest because they are giving. We do see potential “leaky buckets” in health research, population health and mental health. There is great concern that donors cannot fund the gaps created by research funding cuts. The decline in religious giving is a point of vulnerability for all of us. Tenets of all faiths talk about generosity, and as children, we learned generosity at our place of worship. Where are people learning moral responsibility now? We are potentially losing our fundamental social fabric and generosity as a value.
Nathan: Giving to religion continues to decrease and this trend could be a concern, as people who give to religion are twice as likely to give to any charity and give twice as much. The secret sauce for nonprofits is that by design they are the community and can tap into people wanting to belong to a community. Nonprofits need to go back to their roots and leverage this power to create community and connection. Giving reflects the things we care about. Education fell, but this may reflect mega donor gifts given two years ago when education hit a high mark. Human services can be expected to grow as we see more federal funding cuts and donors answering a call to action.
What is the most exciting topic for you from the data?
Betsy: The public society benefit bucket—Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are showing up there and are the most exciting thing happening in philanthropy. This is the more democratic version of the family foundation; the DAF is an easier vehicle accessible to more organizations. The payouts from DAFs do exceed the required payouts from foundations. We need to educate people on the tax advantages, create integration with DAF platforms to transfer money seamlessly and help donors set up recurring payments from their DAFs.
Nathan: I have a love/hate relationship with DAFs, however they do need to be a critical part of any nonprofit’s strategy. Nineteen percent of the largest gifts in 2024 went to DAFs, and while we want to encourage generosity, the opaqueness of DAFs makes it hard to build relationships with donors. There is not a lot of transparency as to where the money is being designated. Wealthy people are using DAFs to stockpile money. We need to proactively build relationships with DAF holders. It is also imperative to build relationships with community foundations where many DAFs are held.
What does the data tell us about bequests?
Betsy: We have the Greatest Generation and Baby Boomer donors who are making their final plans, and we need to make sure we are in those written plans. We also need to engage the next generation to ensure they continue the support.
Nathan: Our continued focus on the transfer of wealth means we are making the assumption that those who inherit the money will be as generous as those who made the money. We need to build relationships with those inheriting assets. Donors are moving away from legacy giving and not expecting the next generations to continue to support the causes they supported. Instead, they are encouraging them to find their own paths.
What are your final takeaways?
Betsy: It was a pretty good year overall with an increase in giving. It was the second highest giving on record in current dollars; still looking great when inflation adjusted. Growth occurred in most sectors, and we still see strong individual giving.
Nathan: From a total dollars perspective, this is a positive report. Giving is keeping up with the GDP. We need to focus on individuals and building community while leveraging technology to scale both of those things. Artificial intelligence will do things in 2025 that will replace humans, and we will have to say “no” to certain things.
About the Authors: Betsy Chapin Taylor, FAHP, is CEO of Accordant. She can be reached at Betsy@AccordantHealth.com or through LinkedIn. Nathan Chappell, MBA, MNA, CFRE, AIGP is Chief AI Officer with Virtuous, specializing in integration of predictive, generative and agentic AI. Connect with Nathan through LinkedIn.
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