Explore our newest studies and reports
Our research focuses on increasing knowledge about the nonprofit sector and improving the practices of giving, volunteering, fundraising, nonprofit organization management, and other aspects of generosity.
The Military & Veterans Community Index 2025
The Military & Veterans Community Index (MVCI) offers the most comprehensive data available on U.S. charitable organizations primarily dedicated to serving military members, veterans, and their communities and caregivers. Drawing on a decade of IRS data, the inaugural report reveals that these organizations received around $3.7 billion in philanthropic support in 2023, representing 0.67% of total U.S. charitable giving. The report highlights key trends across subsectors, showing that human services organizations serving veterans received the largest share of support in 2023 ($445 million), followed by those providing mental health services ($398 million), survivor care and memorializing ($397 million), and housing services ($353 million). Although giving to MVCI organizations has increased over time, the report finds that by most financial measures (such as revenues, expenses, and assets), these organizations have grown more slowly than the broader nonprofit sector. However, payroll growth suggests a professionalizing workforce within the military and veterans nonprofit ecosystem. Together, these findings offer new insights into how philanthropy complements government services and responds to the evolving needs of military members, veterans, and their families.
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Do Donor-Advised Funds Respond to Nonprofit Financial Distress?
This report investigates how donor-advised fund (DAF) donors respond to highly visible crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and to quieter, organization-level financial strain. By examining DAF grantmaking from 2018 through 2023, this study explores whether DAF dollars flow disproportionately to nonprofits that are financially vulnerable when broader economic conditions tighten. The study found that DAF donors respond to both large-scale crises, like COVID-19, and also to smaller crises like economic vulnerability. The response to the latter may be influenced by what data may be most readily available to the donor, like asset size of the nonprofit. Understanding these patterns is crucial for nonprofit leaders, policymakers, and DAF donors and sponsors seeking to harness the full potential of DAFs to stabilize the sector in both good times and times of financial stress.
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Measuring the Financial Health of Mid-sized Nonprofits
This report analyzes the financial health of mid-sized nonprofits through two broad research questions: What is the size, scope, and scale of mid-sized nonprofits? How do we define financial success for them? By comparing the financial health of mid-sized nonprofits (those with assets between $5 million and $75 million) to small (assets less than $5 million) and large (assets greater than $75 million), the study found that mid-sized nonprofits tend to have higher levels of liquid assets, adequate months of spending, and a low debt ratio—meaning that they are more cautious with their finances. In addition to a data analysis of more than 800,000 IRS Forms 990 during 2019-2023, the report includes case-study interviews which illustrate how practitioners think about nonprofit financial success. Measuring the Financial Healthof Mid-sized Nonprofits contributes new knowledge about how financial sustainability measurements, when combined with organizational size, affect financial health.
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The 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy
Charitable Giving by Affluent Households
The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is pleased to mark our 20th year of partnering with the Bank of America to produce the 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy. The Study found that eighty-one percent of affluent households gave with an average of $33,219 to charity in 2024.
Affluent donors are engaged with the philanthropic sector, with giving which extended to an average of five organizations a year. Forty-three percent of individuals volunteered their time to philanthropic organizations in 2024, with nine in ten of those volunteers expressed that their volunteer work was personally fulfilling.
This Study provides actionable insights for donors, their advisors, and nonprofit organizations seeking to engage with them to improve the world.
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The Communities of Color Index 2025
While philanthropy plays a vital role in driving change, nonprofits that serve communities of color frequently encounter significant and ongoing funding disparities in their work. The Communities of Color Index (CCI) offers the first systematically generated directory of charitable organizations in the United States specifically focused on serving communities of color. The report illustrates key characteristics of organizations serving communities of color, including the amount of total philanthropic support they receive from individuals, foundations and corporations. The CCI focuses on four distinct populations—American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian-American & Pacific Islander (AAPI), Black/African-American, and Hispanic/Latino communities. Capturing a decade of data, this inaugural report shows that despite large growth in 2020 and 2021, these organizations receive 2.9% of overall charitable giving.
The Global Philanthropy Environment Index 2025
Covering the period from 2021 to 2023, the 2025 Global Philanthropy Environment Index (GPEI) provides information on the factors influencing philanthropy around the world during a time of significant global challenges, including natural disasters, economic upheaval, and a global health crisis. The index, comprised of 95 country reports, 15 regional reports, and a global report produced in collaboration with nearly 200 philanthropy experts, considers the ease of operating a philanthropic organization, tax incentives, cross-border financial flows, political environment, economic conditions, and sociocultural influences. The 2025 GPEI identifies lasting trends and innovations in addition to challenges, which will shape global philanthropy in the years to come. Philanthropy practitioners, policy makers, educators, and local leaders are encouraged to utilize the GPEI's insights to inform and advocate for meaningful change in their regions and communities.
Unlocking Opportunities: Shaping the Future of Charitable Giving in Broward County
Charitable giving significantly enhances the quality of life for Broward County residents, with annual donations exceeding $1 billion each year. Despite this substantial charitable landscape, a prior study conducted by the Community Foundation of Broward reveals that Broward County in Florida stands at a crossroads of generosity and unexplored philanthropic potential. When compared to similar-size communities in Florida and nationally, charitable giving in the area falls short. This follow-up study aims to uncover how generosity in Broward County can be activated. It brings together existing data points and findings from focus groups to create a more cohesive narrative that explores high-net-worth, diverse donor and non-donor households and offers a clear path for better understanding how to strengthen the existing culture of giving in the area.
The Next Generation of Philanthropy
There is growing interest in understanding how Generation Z (also referred to as Gen Z) and Millennials will reshape the future philanthropic landscape. Often referred to as the next generation of donors, their story is still being written. Nonetheless, we already know that this unique group of young donors is influencing the sector in discernible ways. The Next Generation of Philanthropy report takes a close look at how the next generation approaches giving differently than the generations that came before them.
The Giving Environment: Giving During Times of Uncertainty
The pandemic and its aftermath have reshaped numerous facets of our everyday lives, including our philanthropic motivations and behaviors. To gain deeper insights into these giving trends, we analyzed longitudinal data from the Philanthropy Panel Study (PPS), a biannual survey of household giving behaviors, comparing pre-pandemic periods to the pivotal first year (2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The report quantifies shifts in overall giving rates and average giving amounts while also identifying key drivers of altered giving behavior. Although some findings explore well-researched aspects of giving, this report also uncovers how pandemic factors—such as social distancing mandates, economic loss, and COVID-19 related morbidity/mortality—impacted giving patterns. These findings contribute to an emerging body of research that explores how donors respond during times of crisis and uncertainty.
LGBTQ+ Index 2024: Measuring Giving To LGBTQ+ Organizations
Launched in May 2023, the LGBTQ+ Index: Measuring Giving To LGBTQ+ Organizations is the only comprehensive index of charitable organizations in the U.S. that serve LGBTQ+ causes and communities. The second annual LGBTQ+ Index shows a decade of growth amid ongoing challenges for these organizations, yet LGBTQ+ organizations receive less than $1 dollar out of every $500 donated in the U.S. Resources include a link to a searchable database of organizations included in the LGBTQ+ Index; a research report, infographic and case studies of LGBTQ+ organizations; key statistics from the research; a link to download the full list of LGBTQ+ Index organizations; and FAQs about the Index.
The Philanthropy Outlook 2024 and 2025
The Philanthropy Outlook 2024 & 2025 uses empirical data to develop year-to-year inflation-adjusted growth rates for total giving and giving by all four donor sources: households, foundations, estates, and corporations. The report describes how different economic variables such as GDP, net worth, and the S&P 500 impact giving by each source. In addition, the report explores conditions that may affect the outlook for giving in the next two years. This report provides nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and practitioners with data they can use to inform and develop effective strategies for their organizations in the coming years.
American Jewish Philanthropy 2022: Giving to Religious and Secular Causes in the U.S. and Israel
This report examines American Jewish giving and volunteering in 2022, with a strong emphasis on religious giving and giving to Israel-focused organizations. The study conducted a survey of over 3,000 American households in March 2023, about two-thirds of which were from Jewish households and around one-third from non-Jewish households. The report explores how certain factors—household income and wealth, marital status, educational attainment, children living at home, and age—influence philanthropy as demonstrated by prior research and how those effects differ as compared to non-Jewish households.
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Everyday Donors of Color series
The Everyday Donors of Color report series delves in to understanding the giving trends and patterns of everyday donors of color. The first phase’s sole report Everyday Donors of Color: Diverse Philanthropy During Times of Change highlights the importance of developing a more inclusive set of philanthropic practices for organizations in the aftermath of the pandemic. The second phase’s first report The Giving Environment: Giving Trends by Race and Ethnicity explores the various factors affecting giving patterns within communities of color. The second report The Speed of Trust: An Experiment Examining the Effect of Trust on Giving among Members of Diverse Racial/Ethnic Groups explores the relationship between a donor’s trust in a charitable organization and donation behavior. The series reflects a systematic review of existing literature, data from acclaimed surveys, insights from focus groups with diverse donors, and multiple case studies spread throughout the reports.
Charitable Giving by Affluent Households
Eighty-five percent of affluent households gave to charity in 2022 with the value of their average gifts rising 19 percent above pre-pandemic levels, according to the 2023 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy released today. The study found that affluent households gave an average of $34,917 to charity in 2022, up from $29,269 in 2017, though less than the $43,195 they gave in 2020 when giving levels peaked in response to needs created by the pandemic and an increased awareness of racial and social justice issues.
Mapping Nonprofit Spending on Climate Change
Mapping Nonprofit Spending on Climate Change provides new insights to the understanding of the specific strategies that nonprofits are taking to address climate change, as well as issuing recommendations for funders who hope to advance this vital work. This study serves as an important first step in recording the total funding spent on work to address climate change mitigation at US nonprofit organizations working wholly or partly on the environment and climate change.
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2023 Global Philanthropy Tracker
This tracker measures charitable giving across borders from 47 countries at varying levels of development in every world region, highlighting the impact of cross-border collaboration. It also tracks changes in the origin and size of four main cross-border resource flows: private philanthropic outflows as well as official development assistance (ODA), remittances, and private capital investment (PCI). Lastly, it serves as a benchmark for global giving that highlights the critical role that philanthropy plays in community development, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.