According to a new report published by the donor-advised fund Fidelity Charitable, human services, education and religion are the three most popular fields for giving.
Last year, just under half of all Fidelity Charitable donors (48 percent) directed grants to religious houses of worship, the report found, down two points from three years earlier. A closer examination of the report reveals which nonprofits receive support, and Catholic organizations, which include dioceses as well as human services organizations with church ties, continue to rank among the top beneficiaries of support in many U.S. cities.
The largest grantmaker in the United States, Fidelity Charitable is a donor-advised fund, a nonprofit that disperses grants to other nonprofit organizations. That model of giving is quickly becoming a huge part of the charitable landscape in the United States. They are akin to a savings account that allow donors to deposit money, and take an immediate tax write off while allowing the donation to grow in value tax-free, before deciding later where to direct grants.
According to the National Philanthropic Trust, nearly $46 billion was dispersed from donor-advised funds in the United States in 2021.
According to the National Philanthropic Trust, nearly $46 billion was dispersed from donor-advised funds in the United States in 2021. That is a massive increase from just nine years earlier, when about $8.5 billion was given to charities from these funds.
The use of donor-advised funds has grown in popularity, in part because of the immediate tax benefits. Critics contend that the grants from the funds are too slow in making their way to nonprofits, if ever, and point out that the lack of transparency obscures donations, especially to political organizations. Lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation that would require money donated to these funds to make its way to nonprofits in a more timely manner, setting a limit at 15 years.
The Fidelity Charitable report looked at geographic differences in giving. Local human services organizations, such as food banks, shelters and youth programs, were popular in all regions, as people tend to donate to charities that seek to improve the lives of others who live nearby, the report found.
The report also looked at the top 10 most popular charities receiving grants from Fidelity Charitable. Of the 30 cities studied, 14 included Catholic nonprofits, concentrated heavily in the Midwest and Southwest.
Of the 30 cities studied, 14 included Catholic nonprofits, concentrated heavily in the Midwest and Southwest.
In the Northeast, Boston did not have a Catholic organization in the top 10 most popular charities, but Bridgeport, Conn., had two. The Diocese of Bridgeport came in at number six while Sacred Heart University, a Catholic institution, made the top 10 for the first time, at number eight.
Of the four cities comprising the Mid-Atlantic region, just one, Baltimore, had a Catholic organization in the top 10, while New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., did not. Associated Catholic Charities, the charitable arm affiliated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore, appeared at number eight, the first time it has been included in the top 10.
The Diocese of Raleigh was the only Catholic organization in the Southeast to make a top 10 list, coming in at number four, while Atlanta, Charlotte and Miami did not have any Catholic groups in the top 10.
The Midwest and Southwest had several cities with Catholic organizations in the top 10.
Chicago had two, with Misericordia Home and Catholic Charities coming in at nine and 10, respectively. The greater Cincinnati area saw two dioceses crack the top 10, with the Diocese of Covington coming in at eight and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati at 10. Catholic Charities of Cleveland was the fifth most popular nonprofit for donors there, while the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order was number two in Detroit. The Archdiocese of St. Louis was second there, and no Catholic organizations cracked the top 10 in Milwaukee or Minneapolis.
In the Southwest, home to the fastest growing segment of the church, dioceses fared well when it came to donations.
In the Southwest, home to the fastest growing segment of the church, dioceses fared well when it came to donations.
The Diocese of Austin was 10th in that city, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston fourth there and the Diocese of Phoenix eighth. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix was second. Dallas had no Catholic organization in its top 10.
The Rocky Mountain region, Denver and Salt Lake City, had no Catholic organizations in the top 10, and in the Pacific region, two Catholic nonprofits cracked the top 10: the St. Vincent DePaul Village, at number six in San Diego, and the Diocese of San Jose, at number six there. Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle did not have a Catholic nonprofit in the top 10.
The trends outlined in the Fidelity Charitable report mirror to some extent trends reported in overall philanthropic activity in the United States.
According to Gallup, about 81 percent of Americans donated to charity in 2021, roughly back to the level before the pandemic, when only about 73 percent of Americans said they donated money. But religious organizations did not bounce back. Just 44 percent of Americans gave to religious nonprofits in 2021, down from 52 percent before the pandemic.
According to Fidelity Charitable, more than 382,000 nonprofits have received about $73 billion in grants since its creation in 1991. The report is based on the giving activity of about 100,000 accounts in 2022.
