People who attend religious services gave 2.3% of their income, compared with 1.3% for those who do not.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

70.1% of American households contribute to charity each year
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

The average American household contributes 2.1% of its annual income to charity
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

The average American household contributes $1,075 each year.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

People 75 years of age or older give nearly 5% of their household income to charity. Retirees as a group report higher than average giving - 2.5% of their household income compared with 2.1 % for the average American household.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

College graduates (who also have the highest incomes) are most likely to contribute to charity - 81% contribute, but only a reported average 2% of their household income, below the national average of 2.1%.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

Lower-income donors have become increasingly generous. In 1995, Americans with annual incomes below $10,000 donated 4.3% of their household incomes. Conversely, those in the $75,000 to $99,000 bracket gave only 1.8% of their household
Source: PBS Newshour Online Forum

When asked to make a donation by a foundation or charitable organization, 81% of households donated money.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

The average annual contribution for all households (both contributors and noncontributors) in 1998 was $754 (1.7% of total household income).
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

Seven out of ten households reported making contributions to charity in 1998.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

62% of donors believe most charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use of funds.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

71% of those surveyed said they were "very" or "extremely" concerned about the security of their personal information online. Nearly 90% said they would never give their credit-card information out to a charity or public interest group.
Source: Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co

Donors with at least one family member who volunteers give twice as much of their income than do those who don't volunteer. 47% of donors contributed and had a volunteer. These households gave an average of 2.5% of their household income, compared with 1.2% among the 23% of households that contributed but did not volunteer.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

In 1998, volunteers reported average household contributions of $1,339, compared with $524 for non-volunteers.
Source: Independent Sector May 1999 national survey

In 1999, Americans (individuals, foundations, and corporations) gave $190 billion in charitable gifts. $143.71 billion came from individual givers.
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy's 1999 estimates on giving

In 1999, Americans gave 1.8% of their personal incomes to charity, and that amount totaled 2.1% of the gross domestic product. The last time giving was that large a share of the GDP was in 1971.
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy's 1999 estimates on giving

Public benefit charities saw a decline in giving in 1999. United Way, and other organizations like it lost 1.4% of their raw charitable gifts.
Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy

$15.61 billion was given by bequest in 1999.
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy's 1999 estimates on giving

Nearly all charitable donations by African Americans, Southerners, and born-again Christians were given in the pew. Evangelicals are among the most likely to throw a $20 in the collection basket - on average, they contributed $2,346 last year to their churches.
Source: Lach, Jennifer, "Divine Interventions," American Demographics Magazine. June 2000.

Rock n' roll band Smashing Pumpkins have donated $419,000 to the Hale House, a home for abandoned babies in Harlem. Charitable causes in 13 other cities on their tour for their 1998 album Adore have also benefited from the band's benevolence - they gave all proceeds to charity.
Source: CNN

In 1998, Al Gore and his family gave away 7% of their taxable income to charity, amounting to $15,197. George W. Bush and family gave 2% of their much larger income to charity, totaling $334,000.
Source: CNN: Gore | Bush

Giving to international-relief groups rose 20.9% in 1999, to $2.7 billion. Natural disasters and other catastrophes fueled increased giving to many charities.
Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy

In Silicon Valley, there are approximately 64 new millionaires every business day. If each of them gave one percent of that wealth to charity, there would be $3.2 million going into philanthropic endeavors each week.
Source: CNN

Percy Ross, a syndicated columnist and radio personality, amassed over $7 million and gave it all away (in small sums) to individuals who would call in and make requests to use his money.
Source: Thanks A Million

Nearly 50 million Americans over 18 have Internet access and currently either give their time and/or money to such causes as poverty housing, human rights, civil liberties, international relief, or the environment. Of these, however, most have never visited the Web site of a charity, and only 3.5 million say they have given online.
Source: Source: Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co

A young woman started a philanthropic organization that gives underwear to homeless people.
Source: Shine

The Foundation Center reports that the number of foundations rose by 2,700 in 1999. This is the largest increase in foundations on record.
Source: AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy

The Glaser Family foundation (with assets of about $200 million) is financing a program at the University of Washington known as the Progress Project, whose goal is no less than to help redefine how society measures progress.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, April 9, 2000, page 4E

With his savings and assets of $4.7 billion, Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon.com) could wipe out the external debt of Honduras.
Source: Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, became a national institution in 1972 with a $1.2 billion bequest from industrialist Robert Wood Johnson.
Source: The Foundation Center

The 300-year-old Trinity Church in Manhattan has awarded nearly $57 million in grants since its founding in 1697. Awards have ranged from annual allowances given to needy clergy and their widows and orphans to land given to the City of New York for streets and piers. The Trinity Grants Program, established in 1972, engages in global philanthropy.
Source: The Foundation Center

According to a Chronicle of Philanthropy article, in 1986 the administrators of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan, invited donors to its capital campaign to literally name everything from seats and lights to boilers and lavatory fixtures in the company's new building, then under construction.
Source: The Foundation Center

This year, Americans are expected to spend a record $376 billion on dining out, says the National Restaurant Association. If the average American family would spend half their dining-out budget on philanthropy, the nation's giving totals would double.
Source: Uebelherr, Jan, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, April 9, 2000