Produced by the Giving USA Foundation and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018 (executive summary) found that total giving in 2018, adjusted for inflation, fell 1.7 percent on a year-over-year basis, with an increase in giving by foundations and corporations offset by a decline in individual giving. The report’s authors suggest that the sharp year-end decline in the stock market as well as the changed tax policy environment, including a doubling of the standard deduction, likely had a dampening effect on giving. Various studies suggest that, as a result of the change, the number of households that itemized their deductions may have dropped from more than 45 million in 2016 to between 16 million and 20 million in 2018.
