Giving Rose by 2.1% Last Year, New Estimate Shows

As many economic signs point to a slowing recovery, donors continued to hold tight to their wallets last year, increasing their contributions by slightly more than 2 percent after inflation, suggests Giving USA, the annual tally of charitable giving in America.

The small increase is hardly enough to help organizations out of the giant hole in donations created by the recession. “Giving USA” noted that the previous two years showed the steepest drop in giving ever recorded in the report’s five decades — a decline of 7 percent in 2008 and 6.2 percent in 2009.