charities in 2020, according to “Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020.”.

“Total charitable giving grew 5.1% measured in current dollars over the revised total of $448.66 billion contributed in 2019.

Adjusted for inflation, total giving increased 3.8%,” states the survey, which has been published each year since 1956 and is billed as “the longest running, most comprehensive report on philanthropy in America.”.

Individual giving increased 2.2% to $324.10 billion.

Although that was the highest total dollar figure to date, the Giving USA report said, it “comprised less than 70% of total giving for the third consecutive year.”.

Bequests totaled $41.19 billion in 2020, up 10.3% from 2019, but corporate giving dropped 6.1%, to $16.88 billion, last year.

After those adjustments, religious giving was down 0.2% from 2019, the survey reported.

Human services giving increased by 9.7%, totaling $65.14 billion.

“A very large [part] of charitable giving overall is correlated with attending services frequently, and also [with religious] affiliation

“We do have this concern that as fewer households affiliate and attend services, that has an impact on their giving to congregations,” she added