The Chicago Community Trust: Providing Help During Uncertain Times

Charitable giving in America was down last year, but do the numbers tell the whole story? And how can donors respond to the changing charitable environment?

These are questions posed by the latest Giving USA report—the longest-running and most rigorously researched resource on U.S. charitable giving. According to its new report, Americans contributed $499.33 billion in charitable gifts in 2022. That represented an overall decline of 3.4 percent from the year before, or 10.5 percent when adjusted for inflation.

Giving by individuals, which makes up 64 percent of overall U.S. charitable contributions, declined by 6.4 percent from last year. But 2022 followed two years of unprecedented giving in response to COVID-19 and social unrest around the George Floyd killing. Coupled with ongoing economic uncertainty, some individuals paused their discretionary spending—which may have included their annual charitable giving.

However, other categories of giving stepped up. Giving by foundations (21 percent of total charitable contributions) increased by 2.5 percent. Corporations (6 percent) raised their charitable giving by 3.4 percent. And giving through bequests (9 percent) was up 2.3 percent. Religious organizations remain the top recipient category (27 percent), with human services organizations receiving a higher percentage (14) of the total than education (13) for the first time. Giving to international recipients was up by more than 10 percent, which may reflect the charitable response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Not all acts of generosity show up as “charitable giving” in the Giving USA report’s numbers. Particularly during volatile economic times, many people give by volunteering time, contributing to online campaigns like GoFundMe, participating in holiday gift drives or food drives, and other non-cash philanthropy. Similarly, some individual acts of charity show up in the report as corporate giving, such as “rounding up” purchases at retail outlets or other types of register transactions.

Here at The Chicago Community Trust, we were able to award $1.5 billion in charitable grants in our fiscal year 2022 (which differs from the calendar year covered by the Giving USA report). Because of the generosity of our donor advised fundholders and the strength of our endowment, the Trust is uniquely able to address the needs of the Chicago region over time—protecting against the economic volatility that can affect annual individual giving. Because we are the region’s community foundation, the Trust was able to raise considerable dollars for immediate use during both the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic. Community foundations are designed specifically to weather short-term challenges and ensure support for our communities during times when annual individual giving may dip. We offer multiple ways for donors to partner in these efforts and maximize the impact of their charitable dollars.

As economic factors may affect donors’ short-term giving plans, now may be the right time to consider long-term charitable goals. Gifts made to the Trust from wills, trusts, retirement accounts, and other assets enable donors to support the region and the causes they care about long into the future. Donors who include the Trust in their estate also become members of our 1915 Society and are invited to exclusive events and seminars.

Thanks to our donors, The Chicago Community Trust has the ongoing financial strength and breadth of involvement to provide timely and effective responses to our region’s greatest challenges—regardless of how the economic winds might be blowing.