New survey: 30% of Donors Say the Amount They Donated to Charity in the Past 12 Months has Increased Compared to Previous Year

Donors who include charitable donations in annual budget give more, both generally and to disaster relief

MALVERN, Pa., Nov. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- An online survey conducted by The Harris Poll of more than 2,000 U.S. adults on behalf of Vanguard Charitable, a leading nonprofit and sponsor of donor-advised funds (DAFs), reveals that three-quarters of Americans (75%) donated to charity in the past 12 months (hereby referred to as donors). Among those donors, 30% say the amount they donated increased compared to the previous year.

Americans, on average, gave $1,394 to charity over the past 12 months—a 29% increase from Vanguard Charitable's October 2024 study that found Americans gave $1,081, on average.

This year, just under half of donors (48%) say they include monetary charitable donations in their annual budget. These donors not only gave more, but more of them increased their giving over the last 12 months, the survey found. Donors who have a charitable giving budget, on average, gave $3,001, nearly 3.5 times more than donors without a charitable budget ($808). Moreover, about 4 in 10 donors with a charitable giving budget (43%) say the total amount they donated in the past 12 months increased compared to the previous year, versus 17% of donors who don't have a charitable giving budget.

"Year after year, Americans demonstrate remarkable power of generosity with their continued increase in giving. When we choose to make giving a priority—when we plan, budget, and act with intention—our impact multiplies," said Rebecca Moffett, president of Vanguard Charitable. "We believe every donor has the power to shape a brighter future. By equipping donors with the right tools and resources like donor-advised funds, we're not just supporting philanthropy—we're fueling a movement of sustained, purposeful giving that transforms lives and communities."

Donors with a DAF gave an average of $4,341 in the past year—3.5 times more than donors without a DAF ($1,215). And nearly nine in ten DAF donors (88%) have a charitable giving budget, with almost half (49%) saying they increased their giving compared to last year.

Disaster Relief

Notably, donors with a DAF gave an average of $1,874 to disaster relief in the past 12 month, almost three times more than donors without one ($644).

Across the board, donations to disaster relief increased significantly. The average amount donors gave to disaster relief in the past 12 months increased by about one and a half times more than in 2024 ($757 versus $477). And on average, these disaster relief donors directed 59% of their total charitable donations toward disaster relief in the past year. Additionally, donors with a charitable giving budget gave, on average, $1,039, to disaster relief while those without a charitable budget gave $397, on average. Both of these amounts represent an increase in the average amount given to disaster relief compared to the previous survey last year—by  70% and 18% respectively.

Vanguard Charitable Donors Show Increased Generosity

Donors at Vanguard Charitable also heeded the call to support nonprofits with a 21% increase in dollars granted from November 1, 2024, to October 31, 2025, compared to the prior year. A total of $3.4 billion was granted to some 64,000 organizations, in 257,039 grant units and with average grant amount of $13,586.

Most recently, during the government shutdown (October 1 to November 13, 2025), $20 million dollars was granted to 775 free food programs and food banks with an average grant size of $5,688. Compared to the same time period last year, Vanguard Charitable donors more than tripled the amount granted ($6 million), with 150% more grant units (1,369) going to almost 68% more organizations (462). The average grant amount also increased by 23% ($4,611).

For more information about Vanguard Charitable or giving through DAFs, please visit www.vanguardcharitable.org.

Survey Method
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Vanguard Charitable from October 21-23, 2025 among 2,065 U.S. adults, ages 18 and older, 1,478 of whom donated to charity in the past 12 months. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Katie Miller at [email protected].

About Vanguard Charitable
Vanguard Charitable is a leading U.S. nonprofit organization that fulfills its mission to increase philanthropic giving by administering a donor-advised fund—a tax-effective way to consolidate, accrue, and grant assets to charity. Since it was founded by Vanguard¹ in 1997 as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Vanguard Charitable has granted more than $22 billion to charity. More information is available at www.vanguardcharitable.org.

 ¹Although Vanguard provides certain investment management and administrative services to Vanguard Charitable pursuant to a service agreement, Vanguard Charitable is not a program or activity of Vanguard. A majority of Vanguard Charitable' s trustees are independent of Vanguard.

SOURCE Vanguard Charitable