Board Reality Check

Since the 1940s, giving as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP) has hovered around 2 percent. Last year it was 2.2 percent, down a bit from the previous year.

Where those funds come from has also remained remarkably steady over the years.

In 2008, about 5 percent of all charitable gifts were made by corporations. Another 13 percent came from foundations, and — even though this represents a drop from 2007 — a whopping 75 percent of all charitable gifts came from living individuals. If you add gifts by bequests, individual giving rises to 82 percent.