Most Americans decide 2025 isn’t the year for charity, poll says

Most Americans aren’t making end-of-year charitable giving plans, according to the results of a new AP-NORC poll, despite the many fundraising appeals made by nonprofits that rely on donation surges in the calendar’s final month to reach budget targets. The survey, which was conducted in early December by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research , found that about half of U.S. adults say they’ve already made their charitable contributions for 2025. Just 18% say they’ve donated and will donate again before the year is over. Only 6% report they haven’t given yet but will do so by December’s end. The rest, 30%, haven’t donated and don’t plan to. Everyday donors faced competing priorities this year. President Donald Trump’s social services grant cuts , severe foreign aid rollbacks and November SNAP benefits freeze - plus natural disasters like Los Angeles’ historically destructive wildfires - left no shortage of urgent causes in need of heightened support. But weaker income gains and steep price inflation meant lower-income households had less money to redistribute. Other surveys have also found a yearslong decline in the number of individuals who give. Trump’s tax and spending legislation offered an extra incentive to give more starting in January; most filers will see new charitable deductions next tax year of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples. Some itemizers may make more gifts this year, though, ahead of a new floor for donation write-offs that takes effect in 2026. December still serves as a “very important deadline” for donors, according to Dianne Chipps Bailey, managing director of Bank of America’s Philanthropic Solutions division. She cited estimates from the National Philanthropic Trust that nearly one-third of annual giving happens in the final month. “December 31 does provide a target to make sure that they’ve given what they intended to give before the year is over,” Bailey said. Few donate on GivingTuesday Perhaps no day is more consequential for fundraisers than GivingTuesday. The well-known celebration of generosity sees many nonprofits leverage the attention to solicit donations on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Americans donated an estimated $4 billion to nonprofits this most recent GivingTuesday. But Americans were much more likely to make a Black Friday purchase than a GivingTuesday gift this year. Just under half say they bought something for Black Friday, according to the poll, compared to about 1 in 10 who say they donated to a charity for GivingTuesday. “Black Friday gets the lion’s share of things,” said Oakley Graham, a 32-year-old from Missouri. “And then you’ve got GivingTuesday a couple days later. Most people have probably spent all their spending money at that point.” Graham said his family has “definitely tightened the financial belt” in recent years. He and his wife are dealing with student loan debts now that the Trump administration suspended their repayment plan. Their two young children are always growing out of their clothes. It’s good if there’s anything left for savings. He still tries to help out his neighbors -...

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