For the past 40 years, Giving USA, a publication of the Giving USA Foundation, a research organization that publishes data and trends in charitable giving, has documented charitable support for arts and cultural activities. Giving USA captures donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations, but because it is not yet possible to distinguish among these types of donors (Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy is currently preparing such an analysis), the data presented here describe total giving. These data encompass certain activities (e.g., "arts and cultural" activities include the performing arts) that are not within the scope of the humanities as that term is used for the purposes of the Humanities Indicators(see Statement on the Scope of the Humanities for Purposes of the Humanities Indicators). These data also exclude other key humanities activities (e.g., those for humanities education; Giving USA tallies education giving separately and does not distinguish among the types of activities funded by such donations). Nonetheless, data from Giving USA provide the closest approximation that is currently available of the extent of charitable giving for humanities-related projects.

The most striking feature of the four-decade trend is the marked growth in giving between the mid-1990s and early 2000s (Figure IV-7). Between 1994 and 2001, donations to arts and cultural organizations doubled, rising from approximately $6.5 billion to almost $13 billion. Thereafter, giving leveled off, ranging between $11.8 and $12.5 billion over the 2002–2006 period.

Figure IV-7, Full Size Supporting Data

While the absolute amount of giving for arts and cultural activities increased dramatically, so did charitable giving overall. Thus, arts and cultural organizations' share of all gifts was quite stable over the last four decades. Between 1966 and 2006, giving to such organizations ranged between 3.1% and approximately 5.5% of all charitable donations.

Back to Top

---