Gifts to health organizations dropped to an estimated $21.64 billion in 2008. This is a decrease of 6. 5 percent (- 10 percent adjusted for inflation). Health giving is 7 percent of total estimated giving.

Gifts to public-society benefit organizations reached an estimated $23.88 billion in 2008. This reflects an increase of 5. 4 percent ( 1. 5 percent adjusted for inflation). Public-society benefit giving is 8 percent of total estimated giving.

Contributions to many public-society benefit charities are distributed to human services organizations in allocations made through United Ways, Jewish federations, and freestanding donor-advised funds.

The arts, culture, and humanities subsector received an estimated $12.79 billion in contributions in 2008. This is a drop of 6. 4 percent (- 9. 9 percent adjusted for inflation). Arts, culture, and humanities giving is 4 percent of total estimated giving.

International affairs organizations received an estimated $13.3 billion in 2008. This is an increase of 0.6 percent (but a decrease of 3. 1 percent adjusted for inflation) compared with 2007. International affairs giving is 4 percent of total estimated giving.

Donations to environment/animals organizations fell to an estimated $6.58 billion in 2008. This is a decline of 5. 5 percent (- 9 percent adjusted for inflation). This subsector is 2 percent of total estimated giving.

Deductions carried forward and
unallocated contributions are
estimated to be $19.39 billion, or
6 percent of total estimated giving.

Unallocated giving includes gifts to newly formed organizations; individual and corporate deductions expected to be claimed in 2008 for gifts made in prior years (carried over); amounts that donors deduct at a value different from what the nonprofit reports as revenue (e.g., corporate deductions at cost and nonprofit receipt at fair market value); gifts and grants to government entities claimed by donors but not reported as received at a 501(c)( 3) charity; gifts to organizations treated legally as foundations, but not making grants or qualifying as operating foundations; and foundation grants to organizations located in another country. The Foundation Center reports for 2007 that $1.9 billion was granted to organizations in other nations. 1

 

1 S. Lawrence and R. Mukai, Foundation Giving Trends: Update on Funding Priorities, March 2009, The Foundation Center, www.foundationcenter.org.