Atlas of Giving: U.S. Charitable Giving Tops $450 Billion in 2014

The initial forecast for giving in 2015 is far less positive. The Atlas projects that giving could actually drop from 2014 levels by as much as 3.2 percent. The last time total annual giving fell was in 2009, when recessionary conditions brought about a 5.8 percent decline from the 2008 total. The forecast cites an anticipated stock market correction, along with an expected rise in interest rates in the second half of 2015 as primary drivers of an upcoming downturn in giving.