Giving increased over that time frame by 13.8% (the FEP estimated 11%) overall, or 7.4% when adjusted for inflation. Just like the FEP did, Giving USA looked at the growth in giving over the two years from 2019 to 2021, since 2020 was such an outlier. Second, the data also underscores just how tremendous giving was in 2020 (which is another reason why the growth in 2021 probably wasn’t as significant either). So, the Giving USA data was not a huge surprise, but the impact of inflation was greater than what we had anticipated for the past year. Those numbers align with what we saw from the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy’s Fundraising Effectiveness Project earlier this year, which estimated that giving grew by 2.7% in 2021 (the figures from both surveys were very similar for 2020 as well). However, when adjusted for inflation, giving actually decreased by 0.7%. Overall giving increased to a record $484.85 billion in 2021, which represents 4% growth from 2020. The data is straightforward, but I think there are a few points worth sharing.įirst, while we were expecting inflation to hit this year, it definitely impacted giving in 2021. Have you seen the latest Giving USA numbers for the year 2021? If not, you can read about them here and here (the latter includes a quote from yours truly.