Nonprofit Statistics 2022 – Charitable Giving, Generational, and Industry-Based Data
The nonprofit sector is said to be the third-largest employer in the United States. Many people may be surprised that an industry of charities could make enough to employ that many people. However, with over 1.7 million active nonprofits, the number of employees shouldn’t be a surprise. The nonprofit industry has many surprising statistics that…
The nonprofit sector is said to be the third-largest employer in the United States. Many people may be surprised that an industry of charities could make enough to employ that many people. However, with over 1.7 million active nonprofits, the number of employees shouldn’t be a surprise.
The nonprofit industry has many surprising statistics that may open people’s eyes to the growth of specific industries, giving tendencies of generations, and where the future of nonprofits is headed.
The following important stats may help your organization find the right target market and the best way to reach them.
Charitable giving can feel like a guessing game, and too often, that is precisely what nonprofits do when developing campaigns and communicating with donors.
1.1 These statistics can help your nonprofit develop a roadmap and fundraising plan.
Since 1977, charitable giving has increased every year except in 1987, 2008, and 2009.
2019 was one of the highest years for charitable giving in the US. It amounted to $449.64 billion.
Charitable giving by foundations has grown by 17% from 2020 to 2021 in the US. It can potentially surpass $100 billion in 2022.
60% of all American households participate in some kind of charitable giving.
1.2 America’s generosity has continued even during the pandemic.
In 2021, the average gift amount increased 10% to $813.
In 2020, the average gift increased from $617 to $737.
1.3 Some other interesting charitable giving stats include –
According to the IRS, the most charitable people in the US live in Utah. The other top 10 states comprise Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Idaho, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and North Carolina.
Nonprofits with monthly recurring programs receive an average of $52 every month.
Monthly recurring donors give 42% more than one-time donors.
So, if you’re concerned about whether people are still giving, rest assured they are.
2. Income (AGI Based) Statistics
The breakdown of how individuals are giving according to their income can be fascinating. The following statistics can help give your organization an overview of who you should target and how much you can solicit from your donors.
2.1 When it comes to Average Gross Income (AGI) –
People making less than $50,000 per year are the second highest givers.
People making between $100,000 and $500,000 are the least in charitable giving in terms of their income percentage.
Higher-income individuals give an average of $29,269.
People earning less than $15,000 made an average charitable donation of $1,471 and this must not be ignored.
2.2 Charitable deduction as percentage of AGI:
under $50,000 8.4%
$50,000 – $100,000 4.5%
$100,000 – $500,000 2.9%
$500,000 – 2 million 3.1%
2 million to 10 million 4.4%
10 million or more 9.3%
3. Generational Statistics
Now that we know what people give according to income, we also need to address generational differences. Once again, the statistics may surprise you.
3.1 Gen Z
Gen Zs will represent 82 million people in the US by 2026 (the largest generation) and they’re considered the tech-addicted social justice warriors. Some interesting facts about them include –
Millennials make up 5 to 10% of donors for a charity.
Millennials prefer to donate online.
40% of recurring millennial donors donate online through monthly deductions to their credit/debit cards.
55% of millennials attend fundraising events.
46% of them have been found donating to crowdfunding campaigns.
Areas of interest:
Children
Health
Local places of worship
Human Rights
International Affairs
The amount of gifts for this generation is lower than for older generations, but the number of donors coming from this age group is clearly significant.
Millennial donors are more likely to use mobile devices for research, donating, and advocating for a cause. To reach this generation, you’ll want to look at including digital wallet apps like Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.
Donorbox UltraSwift Pay makes giving a breeze for your donors. It eliminates the need for them to input their personal details and lets you use the power of digital wallets to make the donation process fast, secure, and convenient.
3.3 Gen X
The Gen X generation has fewer people, and 59% of them donate. This may discourage you from focusing on this population, but that would be a mistake.
Gen X donors are more likely to volunteer and start a fundraising campaign.
64% volunteer at local nonprofits and 8% at international ones.
The average annual donation from Gen X donors is $732.
Email is the best way to reach Gen Xers.
This generation of donors should be your best choice for crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising. Convince 1 donor to start a campaign that reaches 10 of their friends and you could raise over $7,000.
Areas of interest:
Local social and human service nonprofits
Animal
Children
Local places of worship
3.4 Baby boomers
Boomers provide 43% of all donations. The Boomer generation has dominated most industries for years due to their size. Nonprofits are no different.
72% of boomers donate annually, which makes them a force to be reckoned with.
Baby boomers represent 51 million donors in the US.
Boomer donors give an average annual gift of $1,212.
71% of baby boomers volunteer locally.
Areas of interest:
Local social services nonprofits
Animals
Children
Human rights
International affairs
Local places of worship
3.5 Silent generation
The silent generation makes up only 11% of the US population but their average annual gift of $1,367 still significantly impacts the nonprofit sector.
88% of the silent generation gives to charity.
26% of nonprofit revenue comes from the silent generation.
This generation also called matures, represents 27 million donors in the US.
They are most likely to make in-kind donations.
Areas of interest:
Veterans
Local social services
Emergency and disaster relief
Local places of worship
Your organization can strengthen relations with these donors by incorporating planned giving.
4. Industry-Based Fundraising & Giving Statistics
Next, we’ll take a closer look at how donors are giving to different nonprofit industries such as religious, school, homeless, food-related, etc.
52% of US donors prefer to donate food, clothing, and other in-kind items.
Food collection and distribution remains the top national volunteer activity in the US.
4.3 Education
14% of all donations go to education nonprofits in the US. It remains one of the top 5 issues receiving the most donations in the country.
Other education-based giving stats include the following –
29% of corporate donations go to education-based causes.
26% of volunteer activities in the US are dedicated to educational nonprofits.
A school usually receives an average of $5000 donations per year.
K-12 school fundraising has dropped by 4.6%.
School groups are said to raise $1.5 billion in funds/year by selling products.
Online donations to higher education organizations rose by 10% in 2020.
4.4 Environmental and animal
Environmental or animal-based charities receive about 3% of all donations in the US. These remain one of the top 5 most discussed issues in the country.
57% of online revenue for animal welfare organizations is driven by email fundraising.
Gen X and baby boomers prefer to donate to animal charities.
Online donations for environmental nonprofits have increased by 34%.
88% of millennials love to make a positive impact on the environment.
5. Online & Mobile Giving Statistics
Younger donors have shown a great interest in online giving. Whether through online campaigns, virtual events, or email marketing, online giving is quickly growing.
In 2020, online giving grew to become 13% of all charitable giving.
In 2021, that number increased another 9%, which gives a total increase of 42% over three years.
The following statistics show the impact of online fundraising.
Half of the nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices.
17% of crowdfunding donations come from mobile devices.
17% of views on online donation forms are on mobile devices.
Millennials and Gen Zs are the most inclined to donate on mobile devices.
6. Volunteering Statistics
The Boomer generation has volunteered in large numbers through the years, but the pandemic has hit nonprofits hard. Fewer older donors were willing to risk volunteering in 2020 and 2021. The following statistics show how these numbers have changed in recent years.
40% of fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grant programs.
About $2 – $3 billion is given from companies to matching gift programs.
29% of corporate giving goes to education nonprofits, 25% to health and social services, and 15% to community and economic development.
26 million+ people work in companies with matching gift programs.
$6 – $10 billion matching gift program funds go unclaimed every year.
Only 1.31% of individual donations to an average nonprofit are matched.
Final Thoughts
Demographics, religion, and annual income can all play a part in why donors give. These statistics can help nonprofits determine which groups best fit their donor base, how they should be communicating, and what are the best ways to fundraise.
Donorbox can help nonprofits collect donor information, segment their donors, and note communication details to create donor management plans for each type of donor. Learn more about our Donor Management feature here.
Donorbox also helps nonprofits of all types raise funds online with simple-to-use, affordable, and powerful fundraising features including Crowdfunding, Peer-to-Peer fundraising, Text-to-Give, Memberships, Events, Recurring Donation Forms, Customizable Donation Pages, and more.
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Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
Kristine Ensor
