Who Donates Funds

Donors to fundraising drives include individuals, foundations, and corporations, who make everything from small personal donations to large grants. In 2006, donations from American corporations, foundations, charitable bequests, and hundreds of millions of individuals totaled more than $295 billion, according to Giving USA.

In America, the vast majority of donations to charitable organizations come from individuals—a whopping $223 billion, or three-quarters of total estimated giving in 2006. This generosity is widespread: 65% of households earning less than $100,000 annually make charitable donations. To put that in perspective, the typical U.S. household is more likely to give money to a religious or nonprofit organization than to vote or read the newspaper. Charitable bequests—gifts that are made to organizations based on the instructions in a deceased person’s will—were estimated to be roughly $23 billion in 2006.

Independent, family, and community foundations are another major category of donors that support a broad spectrum of initiatives through grantmaking. The Foundation Center estimates that the 71,000 grantmaking foundations in the United States gave away more than $40 billion in 2006.

Many companies support community development and education initiatives in the regions where they have operations or retail outlets. Through corporate giving programs and company-funded foundations, American businesses contributed an estimated $13 billion in 2006.