Most US Adults Aren't Making Year-End Charitable Donations

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 AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that about half US 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.

President Trump's tax and spending legislation offered an extra incentive to give, too; most tax filers will see a new charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples. 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.

• A paltry GivingTuesday: Americans donated an estimated $4 billion, but 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, compared to about 1 in 10 who say they donated to a charity on GivingTuesday.

• Checkout charity proves more popular: About 4 in 10 US adults say they donated to a charity when checking out at a store. Oakley Graham, a 32-year-old from Missouri, is among them. As an outdoorsy person, he said he is "always susceptible to giving for conservation." He said he likely rounded up at Bass Pro Shops for that reason. "A couple cents here or there is like—I can do that," he said. Adults over 60 are more likely to donate at checkouts.
• One man's unusual process for year-end donations: About one-quarter of Americans plan to donate in the last weeks of the year, and Chuck Dietrick is one. The 69-year-old architect applies what he calls a "shotgun approach" as the year comes to a close. He and his wife give monthly to Valley Hope, a nonprofit addiction services provider where their son did inpatient rehab, and eight or so organizations. "I would rather give a smaller amount of money to a variety of institutions that I care about rather than giving a big chunk of money to one," he explained.
• Federal funding cuts, shutdown: Most 2025 donors say the amount they gave wasn't affected much by this year's federal funding cuts or the government shutdown, although about 3 in 10 say they did impact the charities they chose to support.