Resources
Key Facts
These 18 numbers* should tell you just about everything you need to know about charitable giving in the U.S–and the need for donors to do more.….
- 800,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. (unimaginable)
- 7,000,000 (7 million)–people officially considered unemployed (unofficially the number is 15 million)
- 42,000,000 (42 million) people may experience food insecurity in the U.S., according to Feeding America, including a potential 15 million children
- 12,000,000 (12 million)–nonprofit sector jobs accounts for 12% of the private sector workforce
- 700,000 nonprofit jobs lost since the pandemic began
- $12,000,000,000,000 (12 trillion, seriously)–is the net worth of the 0.1% of U.S. taxpayers (aka Ultra High Net Worth Individuals, or UHNWI). comprised of families whose wealth exceeds $30 million
- $5,000,000,000,000 (5 trillion)–is the net worth of the 745 U.S. billionaires (seriously)
- $2,100,000,000,000 (2.1 trillion)–is the amount of money billionaires have made just since the pandemic began last March
- $300,000,000,000 (300 billion)–is the total annual amount President Biden originally proposed to raise to fund all of the major pieces of his Build Back Better agenda
- $120,000,000,000 (120 billion)–is the amount the 0.1% typically give to nonprofit organizations each year, approximately 1% of their assets
- $120,000,000,000 (120 billion)–is the amount of additional dollars that would go to nonprofits if all 0.1% individuals met the Charitable Standard of distributing on average 2% of their assets this year
- $1,200,000,000,000 (1.2 trillion)–is the amount of money sitting in private foundation endowments (they are required to pay out just 5% of their assets each year, or $60 billion)
- $40,000,000,000 (40 billion)–is the amount of additional dollars that would go to nonprofits if all foundations met the Charitable Standard of distributing 6-10% of their endowments this year
- $120,000,000,000 (120 billion)–is the amount of money held in Donor Advised Funds (DAFs), which have no payout requirement
- $700,000,000,000 (700 billion)–is the total federal non-defense spending discretionary budget
- $400,000,000,000 (400 billion) given to charity last year, excluding gifts to private foundations: 70% from individuals, 15% from foundations, 10% from bequests, and 5% from corporations
- 105–is the number of individuals, donor-advised funds and foundations that signed the Crisis Charitable Commitment and met the Charitable Standard in 2020 by digging deep to meet the crises created or exposed by the pandemic
- $600,000,000 (600 million)–is the total contributions to nonprofits by CCC signers
*all numbers are approximate as of December 15, 2021
Resources for Further Reading
Want to learn more about why we need the wealthiest to give more? Here are some resources from CCC partners and national research centers that help explain.
Charitable Giving in the US
- Institute for Policy Studies, “Increasing Private Foundation Payout”: Over $1 trillion is held in private foundations that are required to pay out just 5% of their assets each year….
- National Philanthropic Trust, 2019 DONOR-ADVISED FUND REPORT: $120 billion is held in donor-advised funds (DAFs), which have no payout requirements whatsoever
- Brookings Institution, “Measuring income and wealth at the top using administrative and survey data”: Over $10 trillion is held by ultra high net worth individuals, the 0.1% of U.S. households, comprised of families whose wealth exceeds $25 million. It is estimated they account for $150 billion of charitable giving. If those individuals committed to meeting the CCC goals, an additional $150 billion would go to nonprofit organizations!
The Pandemic and The Economic Downturn
- One survey of nearly 500 Arizona non-profits found that over 80% of respondents were experiencing budgetary implications from the pandemic, while at the same time 40% of respondents were experiencing a greater demand on their services and support.
- A similar poll of non-profits in Iowa and Nebraska found that 56% of non-profits are facing a significant impact on their programs and services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A poll of non-profits in New York showed that 85% of respondents indicated a high/significant impact on their programs, services and operations. Over 70% of respondents responded that they were experience or anticipating challenges related to their organization’s budget, cash flow and funding.
Income Inequality in the US
- Fortune Magazine, “Gilded Age 2.0: U.S. Income Inequality Increases to Pre-Great Depression Levels”: The US currently features the greatest level of income inequality since 1929. In the global context, the US ranks highly in nearly all measures of economic inequality.
- Organization for Economic Development: Of all the 37 OECD countries, the US is in the bottom four countries in terms of income inequality.
- Institute for Policy Studies, White Supremacy Is The Pre-existing Condition: In just 12 weeks during the COVID pandemic, the combined wealth of all US billionaires increased by more than $637 billion and to yield a total of $3.581 trillion while 44 million Americans lost their jobs. The racial gap of wealth in particular has grown exorbitantly. The $3.581 trillion controlled by these 640 billionaires is more than the entire Latino population of the US, which accounts for 59 million people
- Economic Policy Institute, “Top 1.0% of earners see wages up 157.8% since 1979”: The richest Americans have witnessed the greatest gain in wealth in recent history. Over the last four decades, the growth of wages and income across the economy has overwhelmingly been secured by the richest Americans.