Indicator

Charitable Giving for Humanities Activities

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Given the comparatively limited financial support for the humanities from the federal government (see, for example, the indicator on funding for humanities research), a substantial share of funding for humanities work comes from private sources. There is no source of national data on giving for humanities activities specifically, but data on the broader category of arts, culture, and humanities (ACH) organizations show a considerable increase in charitable giving over the past several decades. During economic hard times, however, ACH organizations tend to lose considerable ground.

Findings and Trends
Findings and Trends
  • In 2020, giving from corporations, foundations, and individuals to ACH organizations declined from its 2019 zenith, decreasing 8.5% to $19.47 billion, even as charitable giving increased 3.8% overall (adjusting for inflation; Indicator IV-15a). ACH organizations in 2020 received substantially less in contributions than other types of entities, such as religious organizations ($131.08 billion) and educational institutions ($71.34 billion).1
  • Donations from charitable sources to ACH organizations increased 277% from 1984 to 2000 (rising from $4.21 billion to $15.88 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars) and then, after a modest decline, experienced another surge up to $18.63 billion in 2007. With the recession came a sharp decline in charitable giving to these organizations, as donated funds fell 20.7% (to $14.77 billion) in 2008. ACH organizations fared worse than charitable organizations generally (as charitable giving declined only 7.3% overall).
  • From 2011 to 2019, the growth in charitable giving to ACH organizations outpaced the growth in charitable giving overall. From 2011 (its recent low point) to 2019, giving to ACH organizations rose 44.3%, while giving increased 32.2% overall. As a result, contributions to ACH organizations grew from 4.3% to 4.7% of all charitable giving. But with the divergence in giving trends in 2020 (as giving to ACH organizations decreased by more than 8%, while charitable giving increased overall), the share of all charitable donations that went to arts, culture, and humanities shrank to 4.1%.

Endnotes

  • 1Indiana University, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020 (Chicago: Giving USA Foundation, 2021), 23.
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Data Source and Other Information

Source: Indiana University, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020 (Chicago: Giving USA Foundation, 2021). Inflation adjustment performed by Giving USA using the Consumer Price Index. Data presented by American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (humanitiesindicators.org).

About the Data

Little information is available on charitable giving to the humanities. The Giving USA Foundation, a research organization that publishes data and information on trends in charitable giving, documents charitable support for an array of sectors—including “arts, culture, and humanities organizations.” Unfortunately, this category encompasses a range of activities (such as the performing arts) that are not within the scope of the humanities as conceptualized for the purposes of the Humanities Indicators. These data also exclude other key humanities activities (such as humanities education, which is tallied in an undifferentiated “education” category). Nonetheless, data from Giving USA provide the closest available approximation of the extent of charitable giving for humanities-related projects.

Related Indicators

For information regarding federal funding for humanities activities, see “National Endowment for the Humanities Funding Levels” and “Beyond NEH: Other Federal Support for Humanities Activities.”

For indicators dealing with nonfederal funding for the field, see “Foundation Funding of Humanities Activities,” “Not-for-Profit Humanities Organizations and Their Revenues: Overview,” “Not-for-Profit Humanities Organizations and Their Revenues: Trends among the Major Organization Types,” and “Research and Development Expenditures at Colleges and Universities.”

See also “State Humanities Council Revenues.”

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The Humanities Indicators and Departmental Survey have been made possible in part by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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