What $2.3 Trillion in Global Giving Tells Us About Donors

Donor behavior is intriguing to nonprofit professionals. Understanding their thought processes can help influence strategies on who to ask, how to ask, when to ask and even when not to ask — yet.

Knowing that information about individuals is important, but understanding overall generosity can provide valuable insights into how people give. The latest GivingTuesday report, “The State of Generosity in 2024-2025,”  reveals $2.3 trillion in global giving in 2024.

“When we see $2.3 trillion in global giving — most of it from people sending money home to loved ones, supporting neighbours or contributing to causes they care about — we're seeing something profound: civic participation in action,” Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday, said.

Here are five key takeaways nonprofits should pay attention to.

1. Individuals Power Philanthropy

Though it may not seem like it in a year when federal grant cancellations have dominated headlines, the reality is that individuals drive giving.

The report estimates that out of $2.3 trillion in total global financial gifts in 2024, $1.5 trillion came directly from individuals. This includes formal donations to nonprofits, religious tithes, community-based informal gifts and remittances.

Remittances alone accounted for $905 billion of that individual portion, making that the largest channel of generosity globally. Though researchers can’t determine how much of this category is backed by generosity, they believe most of it supports communities. Typically, remittances come from people supporting family or communities in their home countries.

2. Loss of Government Aid Is a Reminder to Diversify Revenue Streams

A stark warning runs through the report: The era of abundant institutional funding seems to be ending. Notably, USAID’s international development budget is being slashed by 83% in 2025, and other government aid sources face projected cuts of up to 17%.

This sudden shift underscores a long-standing recommendation from GivingTuesday’s past reports: Broaden your base of individual supporters now, not later. While the loss of government funding may be out of a nonprofit’s control, building a more diverse and distributed donor ecosystem is not.

3. Trust in Nonprofits Remains High

Nonprofits remain among the most trusted actors in public life. In seven countries surveyed, trust in nonprofits ranged from 56% in Mexico to 72% in Kenya. This trust was not fragmented along ideological lines.

Though political polarization dominates headlines, this finding highlights an extraordinary advantage. Donors and communities across all lines are still looking to nonprofits as reliable, values-driven leaders. Lean into messaging that is both community-centered and transparent. And don’t shy away from speaking to values — your audience likely already sees you as a trustworthy actor in the civic sphere.

4. Community Builds Generosity

GivingTuesday introduced a new metric this year: civic intent, a composite metric that captures how individuals express their commitment to the common good. The findings are clear: Where people feel connected, they give more.

Civic intent scores were highest in India and Kenya — two of the most generous countries in the report — and mirrored the Ipsos Social Cohesion Index. Volunteers and advocates actively involved in the mission consistently reported higher levels of community belonging and trust than non-participants.

5. Don’t Overlook Non-Donors As Never Donors

A striking finding from the report is how rarely people only give money. In the U.S., for example, 43% of givers contributed money, time and items, while fewer than 10% gave money alone. In India, a staggering 70% of people gave across all three forms.

GivingTuesday calls this a gateway. By engaging with one type of generosity, it often opens the door to others, so nonprofits should stop thinking in fundraising silos. Every volunteer, advocate and in-kind donor is a potential financial donor. Build flexible engagement pathways that reflect how people actually participate.

Investing in individual relationships, designing for multidimensional engagement and doubling down on community trust are not only good practice — they may be the difference between stagnation and resilience in the years to come.