Guide to Charitable Giving: Americans gave less in 2022—but our generous spirit is alive and well
Are Americans feeling less generous? After two record-beating years of charity, U.S. charitable giving declined in 2022, according to a Giving USA report earlier this year.
Any decline in giving is rare, and adjusting for inflation, the total amount of charitable giving declined by more than 10% between 2021 and 2022—what gives? If Americans seem Scroogelike, it’s probably due to a mixture of economic factors, experts say.
“Drops in the stock market and high inflation caused many households to make tough decisions about their charitable giving for the year,” says Josh Birkholz, CEO of the Midwest-based philanthropy firm BWF and chair of the Giving USA Foundation, which conducted the study. “But despite uncertain economic times, Americans demonstrated how essential they view the nonprofit sector and its ability to solve big problems by still giving nearly half a trillion dollars in 2022.”
The total number—$499.33 billion given to charitable causes in the U.S. in 2022—remains impressive, even though it represents a dip compared to the first two years of the pandemic. But what’s more important to remember is that the spirit of giving isn’t limited to writing checks. In fact, the dollar amount that we give only represents one of the ways we give back.
If you’re looking for a way to give back in Cincinnati this holiday season—or throughout the year—consider volunteering your time for a cause you’re passionate about. Or research commonly requested items by food banks, homeless shelters or other nonprofits, and then check to see if you’ve got extras around the house. And, of course, monetary donations are still accepted and deeply appreciated by every nonprofit you love—and some you haven’t heard of yet. For those who want to give but are overwhelmed by the options or not sure where to begin, here’s our guide on how to get started.
Give Time
There’s nothing you can give that’s more valuable than your time. Many nonprofits are underfunded and understaffed, so offering volunteer hours is a huge help. Flip through the following pages to read about some of the nonprofits seeking volunteers in the Cincinnati area. You can also visit cincinnaticares.org, an online database of Cincinnati nonprofits that allows you to filter volunteer opportunities by type of work, frequency, age of volunteer and more. Volunteering isn’t just rewarding—it’s a great bonding activity if you do it with family, friends or coworkers, and you’ll probably forge new connections while you’re there.
Many volunteer opportunities require no experience—you’ll be good to go with a little bit of training. But if you have special skills or experiences that you’d like to use to help others, look into nonprofit organizations where you might be able to use them. Handy around the house? People Working Cooperatively could use your help in providing home repairs for low-income homeowners. Got a history in business? Join SCORE Greater Cincinnati and serve as a mentor to new business owners.
Give Needed Items
If you clear out your house, odds are you’ll find clothes you don’t wear, books you’ll never read and some things you don’t recognize. Some of it might be destined for the garbage—but we guarantee some of it could be used by others! Homeless shelters like Shelterhouse are always accepting food items, clothing and toiletries to distribute to the people they help. Organizations like Queen City Book Bank will take your kids’ old books and give them to children in need.
And many other nonprofits in the area have a wish list on their website. Hosting a party or an event? Consider asking if each your guests will bring canned food or another commonly requested shelter item.
It’s worth noting that many nonprofits, even those with an item wish list, would prefer a monetary donation—after all, they know what they need better than anyone. So don’t buy 100 bottles of shampoo just to give them to a shelter. Instead…
Give Your Money Where It Counts
Monetary donations are a great way to make a difference. The more research you do, the better you’ll feel about the way your donation’s being used. If you’re thinking about making a donation to a nonprofit that has volunteer opportunities available, consider signing up for a shift and spending a day on-site learning about how the nonprofit functions on the day-to-day.
You can also read about your charity of choice on one of the many online nonprofit rating systems like Charity Navigator or Charity Watch, which evaluate nonprofits for effectiveness and transparency.
Give All Year
However you give, don’t just give around the holidays. The feeling of helping others with time or money feels good the rest of the year, too. Why not make a giving-related New Year’s Resolution and try to keep it for all of 2024? Give it a shot.
