By Virginia Lascara
virginia.lascara@insidebiz.com
Americans are in the giving spirit now more than ever.
It's estimated that Americans gave $358.38 billion to charity in 2014, surpassing the peak seen before the recession, according to "Giving USA 2015: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2014."
The total in the benchmark year of 2007, when adjusted for inflation, was estimated at $355.17 billion.
Giving USA is published by Chicago-based Giving USA Foundation, which was established to advance philanthropy through research and education.
Giving in 2014 rose by $18.44 million compared to the year before, after inflation-adjustments. That's an increase of 7.1 percent.
The record-breaking number is a sign of the economic recovery because of its correlation to disposable income, said Keith Curtis, chair of Giving USA Foundation and president of the Curtis Group, a Virginia Beach-based nonprofit consulting firm.
When Americans have more disposable income, they are more likely to donate their money.
The amount donated to charities also shows the true heart of the American people, Curtis said.
Individual giving was $258.51 billion, a 4 percent inflation-adjusted increase from 2013. Individual giving accounted for 58 percent of total giving in 2014.
The next largest category was foundation giving, which accounted for $53.97 billion, a 6.5 percent inflation-adjusted increase from 2013.
Bequest giving was $28.13 billion, a 13.6 percent inflation-adjusted increase from 2013.
Corporate giving was $17.77 billion, an 11.9 percent inflation-adjusted increase.
The report showed the categories of charities Americans supported last year.
Although religion was still the largest category, at $114.9 billion, giving increased by a modest 0.9 percent when adjusted for inflation.
Giving to human services, $42.1 billion, also showed a slight increase, an inflation-adjusted jump of just 1.9 percent.
Education giving increased to $54.62 billion, an inflation-adjusted increase of 3.2 percent.
Americans gave $30.37 billion toward health in 2014, an inflation-adjusted increase of 3.8 percent from 2013.
The arts/culture/humanities category increased significantly to $17.23 billion, an inflation-adjusted rise of 7.4 percent.
Giving to environmental and animal causes also saw a large increase of 5.3 percent, inflation-adjusted, to $10.5 billion.
Public society benefit giving rose to $26.29 billion, an inflation-adjusted increase of 3.4 percent.
Giving to foundations, with an estimated total of $41.62 billion in 2014, grew just 0.1 percent when adjusted for inflation.
The only category to see a decrease in giving was international affairs. Americans gave $15.1 billion toward international affairs, a 3.6 percent drop when adjusted for inflation.
International affairs giving varies greatly, and is likely to rise when there is a large natural disaster, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Curtis said.