Americans Gave a Lot Less in the Recession Than Experts Predicted

American donors gave a lot less to charity in the first two years of the recession than they did in 2007, dropping their donations a total of about 20 percent from 2008 through the end of 2009, new data from the Internal Revenue Service suggest.

The decline is far sharper than experts had expected—and much more substantial than in previous downturns.

The new numbers from the IRS underscore just how big a financial hole nonprofits must climb out of as the still-fragile economy recovers.