In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., takes an analytical look at the 2026 Giving USA report, which reviews charitable giving in the United States during calendar year 2025. Bill begins with the headline that charitable giving reached $617 billion in current dollars, the highest total ever reported. He explains the difference between current dollars and inflation-adjusted dollars, noting that while inflation still weighs heavily on household budgets, donors nevertheless gave at record levels. For Bill, the message is clear: the rumors of generosity’s demise may be not greatly exaggerated, but greatly misunderstood. Even in a world of mortgage payments, food costs, medical bills, and general economic “oh no, the budget is doing gymnastics” anxiety, Americans continued to give.
Bill then breaks down where the giving came from, emphasizing that individuals remain the engine of American philanthropy. Individuals accounted for 64% of total giving, but when bequests and the personal-family-foundation portion of foundation giving are included, Bill estimates that roughly 83% of charitable giving is connected to individuals. That is a friendly but firm reminder to fundraisers: start with people. Board members, volunteers, staff when appropriate, program participants, alumni, annual fund donors, major donors, and new donors acquired through events, mail, and digital channels all matter. Foundations and corporations are important, too, but a strong base of individual support makes an organization more sustainable and more attractive to institutional funders.
The episode then turns to where charitable dollars went. Giving increased in eight of the nine Giving USA subsectors, with double-digit gains in education, environment and animals, and public-society benefit. Bill spends particular time on donor-advised funds, noting that many private-sector DAF sponsors are included in the public-society-benefit category. He connects these Giving USA findings with other research showing rapid growth in donor-advised funds, suggesting that some giving that might once have gone to private foundations may now be flowing into DAFs instead. That means fundraisers should be prepared to talk with donors about donor-advised funds, especially because many sponsors now allow accounts to be opened with much lower minimums than in the past. Bill also highlights one of the biggest takeaways from the report: bequest giving increased nearly 20% in current dollars and nearly 17% after adjusting for inflation, suggesting that the long-discussed wealth transfer may now be showing up in the data. Planned giving, he says, should not be treated like a mysterious locked attic in the fundraising house; it belongs in the regular fundraising strategy.
Bill closes by urging fundraisers to study multiple years of data rather than overreacting to a single year. Since 2019, total charitable giving is up 42%, while inflation is up 26%, giving nonprofits reason to fundraise with an abundance mentality and a growth mindset. He also points to the “wealth effect” of giving, especially the strong relationship between the S&P 500 and charitable giving in the following year. After three straight years of double-digit S&P 500 gains, philanthropy has benefited from a powerful financial tailwind, though Bill cautions fundraisers to watch the market carefully as they plan for 2026 and beyond. The takeaway is optimistic but practical: fundraising is still work, and if it were easy, Bill jokes, we would let AI and the robots do it all. But the data offer plenty of flashing green lights. Donors are still generous, individual relationships still matter most, planned giving deserves attention, and nonprofits can move forward with confidence, discipline, and a deep commitment to the people, communities, animals, environments, arts, health causes, and missions they serve.
