Americans Upped Their Giving in 2005 by More Than Six Percent

Gordon Sawyer, a columnist in a Georgia newspaper, said today, "Philanthropy marks the character of Americans." This was in response to the release of the latest charitable statistics by Giving USA.

I think Gordon is so right. Despite everything -- ups and downs in the economy, job losses, even skepticism about whether nonprofits are to be trusted or not -- Americans keep on giving.

The new report states that during 2005 we gave $260.28 billion to charitable causes. That was the highest amount ever...about $15 million over 2004 and equaling the previous all-time high in 2000. Besides giving to our favorite causes, we gave generously to disasters such as hurricanes Rita, Katrina, and Wilma, and a big chunk went to help out the victims of the Asian tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan.

Lest you think that all that money came from corporations or large foundations, individual giving accounted for 76.5 percent of all estimated giving in 2005.

When we get discouraged about so-called declines in our culture, politics, or national character, let us remember our ever-generous hearts.