Giving to education, 1968–2008 ($ in billions)

40. 94

34. 84

31. 49

29. 77

21. 20

23. 84

18. 42

16. 15

14. 73

14. 27

14. 50

14. 23

10. 12

6. 71

2. 38

3. 33

4. 32

1968

1973

1978

1983

1988

Current dollars Inflation-adjusted dollars

1993 1998 2003 2008

 

Giving to education has increased a great deal, particularly since the mid-1990s.

In 1988, the inflation-adjusted total amount given to education ($18.42 billion) divided by the number of American households ( 91. 12 million, using Current Population Survey data from the Census Bureau) results in an estimate of giving to education of $202 (adjusted for inflation) per household.

In a similar calculation, by 1998, the number of households had grown to 102. 53 million and the per household average gift to education rose to $307. For 2008, with estimated giving to education of $40.94 billion and approximately 116. 78 million households, donations to education averaged $351 per household.

The calculations “per household” include all households, even those that do not give to education. They also include all giving to education, including that from corporations, foundations, and through charitable bequests. This allows for comparison over time and across subsectors.