Philanthropy

Americans Know How to Give

A new survey shows that Americans are more generous than citizens of other nations. According to the results of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Research Project, 49% of Americans surveyed said they had volunteered for civic activities in the past year, compared to only 19% of German respondents and 13% of French respondents.

Also, while only 44% of Germans and 43% of French donated money to charity in 1999, 73% of Americans made charitable gifts, which totaled $190 billion—one-third of the federal domestic budget. This is the highest comparative level of philanthropy in the U.S. in 28 years.