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Philanthropy By The Numbers (PDF)
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Since many in philanthropy lack the time and opportunity to study the history and
basic shape of American giving as a whole, let’s consider some essential facts about
giving in the U.S.
How much, and how does it compare?
Total amount of giving in 2003 (including corporate, individual, foundation, and
bequest giving): $240.7 billion
Average number of days it took the U.S. government to spend $240.7 billion
in 2003: 41
Total revenues of Wal-Mart in 2003: $244 billion
Total foundation giving in 2003: $26.3 billion
Total market value of Google at the end of its first day of public trading: $27.2 billion
Estimated total amount sent by U.S. immigrants back to their countries of origin in
2002: $30 billion
Total giving by Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller during their lifetimes (in
2003 dollars): $14 billion
Total federal spending in 1910 (in 2003 dollars): $13 billion
Total amount given or pledged by Bill and Melinda Gates by 2003: $23 billion
Total federal spending in 2003: $2.16 trillion
Number of times today’s two wealthiest Americans, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet,
would have to give away their entire fortunes to equal Carnegie and Rockefeller’s
contributions relative to government spending in their day: 30
How big is foundation philanthropy?
Number of foundations in the U.S. in 1982: 23,770
Number of foundations in the U.S. in 2002: 64,843
Number of foundations in 1985 with at least $250 million in assets (about $440
million in 2003 dollars): 36
Number of foundations in 2003 with more than $440 million in assets: 132
Percentage of all foundation giving in 2002 that came from the 25 largest
foundations: 20
Number of foundations in 2003 with paid staff: 3,360
Total number of people employed in foundations in the U.S. in 2003: 17,821
Total number of people employed as nuclear engineers in the U.S. in 2003: 16,010
Number of new employees IBM expected to add to its total workforce of 319,273 in
the year 2004: 18,800
U.S. Philanthropy by the Numbers
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Where does giving come from?
Percentage of all giving that came from foundations in 1983: 6
Percentage of all giving that came from foundations in 2003: 11
Percentage of all giving that came from corporations in 2003: 6
Percentage of all giving that came from individuals in 2003: 75
Percentage of the U.S. adult population that reported contributing to charities
in 2002: 86
Percentage of the U.S. adult population that reported volunteering in 2001: 44
Percentage of the U.S. adult population that voted in 2004: 60
Where does the giving go?
Percentage of all giving (including individual giving) in 2003 that went to
religious organizations: 36
Percentage of all giving (including individual giving) in 2003 that went to
human services: 8
Percentage of all giving (including individual giving) in 2003 that went to
environmental causes: 3
Percentage of dollars from the nation’s 1,000 largest foundations in 2001 that
went to human services: 9.7
Percentage of dollars from the nation’s largest foundations in 2001 that went to
colleges and universities: 26.8
Number of the top 20 grant recipients of the nation’s largest foundations between
1992 and 2001 that were elite universities: 16
The future of giving
Estimated number of foundations in the U.S. in 2020 if growth in the next generation
(2001-2020) mirrors the last (1981-2001): 100,000
Low estimate of the total amount expected to be given to charity between 1998-
2017 as baby boomers inherit the wealth amassed by their parents: $1.7 trillion
Estimated annual charitable giving projected in 2017 based on historic data trends
before factoring in the intergenerational transfer of wealth (in 2003 dollars, actual
numbers will be higher): $316 billion
Estimated annual charitable giving projected in 2017 based on historic trends and
low estimates for the intergenerational transfer of wealth (in 2003 dollars, actual
numbers will be higher): $571 billion
Estimated number of U.S. estates worth between $1 million and $10 million that will
pass to the next generation and charity through 2017: 1,500,000
Estimated number of U.S. estates worth $20 million or more that will pass to the
next generation and charity in the same time frame: 50,000
Sources: Global Business Network original research; Giving USA; Foundation Center; National Public Radio; Chronicle of Philan-
thropy; Independent Sector; Center for Voting and Democracy; U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Department of State; OMB Watch;
The Washington Post; USA Today; The Boston Globe; Havens and Schervish, Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy;
Waldemar Nielsen, The Golden Donors
Excerpted from Looking Out for the Future: An Orientation for Twenty-First Century Philanthropists,
by Katherine Fulton and Andrew Blau
©2005 Monitor Company Group, LLP
For more information, visit www.futureofphilanthropy.org