Public Opinion Analysis –
By Glynn Wilson –

Majorities of Americans continue to support charitable causes, according to a recent Gallup Poll, although not so much religious groups.

More than three-quarters of American adults surveyed, 76 percent, report that they gave money to a nonprofit organization in the past year, and 63 percent said they volunteered their time to help.

Levels of charitable activities are somewhat different from what they were in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gallup reports, with financial contributions down 5 percent from 2021, yet volunteering time is 7 points higher now.

In recent years, as U.S. adults have become less likely to identify with a religion, they have also become less likely to report that they donate money to a religious group, Gallup reports. The 41 percent of Americans saying in 2025 that they donated to a religious organization is the lowest to date, down 21 points from the initial measurement in 2001.

Americans have been consistently more likely to say they have donated their money or time to secular rather than religious organizations, Gallup reports. Yet the 69 percent of adults who say they contributed to a nonreligious organization is down 10 points from 2001, and five points since 2021.

Meanwhile, reports of volunteering time for nonreligious non-profit groups have risen 8 points since 2021 to 55 percent, the first majority-level reading for this measure.

A steady 17 percent of Americans say they gave blood in the past 12 months.

Financial donations to charitable organizations in 2025 are more common among those with higher-income adults, not surprisingly, as well as those with higher educational attainment and older Americans. Volunteer activities are also more common among wealthier adults and those who have education beyond high school, but middle-aged adults are more likely than their younger and older counterparts to report volunteering.

Gallup’s Bottom Line

“Americans remain broadly engaged in charitable activity, with roughly three-quarters reporting financial donations and more than three in five contributing time through volunteering,” Gallup says in its analysis of the numbers. “While giving money has softened modestly since inflation rose in 2021, volunteering has rebounded and now exceeds pandemic levels, suggesting that Americans are moving toward expressing civic commitment through time rather than dollars.”

At the same time, they say, “Americans’ charitable engagement continues to shift away from religious organizations and toward secular ones, mirroring long-term declines in religious affiliation and participation. Donating to religious groups is at its lowest level in Gallup’s trend, while volunteering for nonreligious organizations has reached a majority for the first time. These patterns point to a changing landscape for the charitable sector, in which nonreligious organizations may play a growing role in mobilizing volunteers, even as overall giving remains strongly tied to income, education and age.”

According to Google and other sources, GoFundMe is the number one crowd funding way to contribute, although PayPal is still in the running.

A Few Ideas

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