Samwise Nonprofits and Charities Newsletter
Friday, June 26, 2026
U.S. Charitable Giving Topped $600 Billion for the First Time, With Megadonors and Bequests Driving the Record
American charitable giving surpassed $600 billion for the first time in the six-decade history of the Giving USA report, reaching $617.2 billion in 2025, CNBC reported Thursday. Nine donors together contributed $22.32 billion of the total, with MacKenzie Scott leading at $6.65 billion, followed by Michael Bloomberg at $4.3 billion, Bill Gates at $3.7 billion, Warren Buffett at $1.34 billion, and Susan and Michael Dell at nearly $1 billion. Bequest giving also surged, with nearly one-third of that category’s increase coming from the $3.1 billion estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
MacKenzie Scott’s $7 Billion in 2025 Gifts Made Her One-Third of All U.S. Megadonor Giving for the Year
MacKenzie Scott donated approximately $7 billion to nonprofits in 2025, alone accounting for one-third of all U.S. megagifts that year, according to data provided to Fortune by Giving USA and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Her five-year cumulative total has reached $26.2 billion, directed to organizations working in housing, diversity, disaster recovery, and other causes. Scott, the former spouse of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gave quietly and without seeking attention, leading the Chronicle of Philanthropy to omit her from its annual Philanthropy 50 list because she declined to provide data to the publication.
Wealthy Donors Are Giving More, but Political and Economic Forces Complicate Their Plans
Seven wealthy donors each made gifts of at least $100 million in May 2026—the first time this year that many nine-figure donations were announced in one month—signaling that affluent philanthropists are pushing through political and economic uncertainty, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported Thursday. Some major donors are overcoming reluctance to give publicly, while others are pivoting from multi-year programs to fund the immediate survival of nonprofits squeezed by government cuts. “People have just decided or figured out they’re going to have to live with this political uncertainty,” said James Joseph, an Arnold & Porter partner who advises high-net-worth donors.
Sources: The Chronicle of Philanthropy Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Giving USA 2026: Fundraisers Urged to Lean Into Planned Giving and Donor-Advised Funds for Year-End
The Giving USA 2026 report, which showed total U.S. charitable giving of $617.20 billion in 2025, holds four key lessons for fundraisers preparing for year-end campaigns, the Association of Fundraising Professionals said Thursday. Bequest giving grew 19.7 percent to $62.19 billion—the strongest gain of any giving source—and AFP recommends organizations lean into planned giving as a result. Donor-advised fund assets reached $326.45 billion in 2024, with an estimated 15.1 percent of all charitable contributions now flowing through these vehicles. AFP also recommends strengthening foundation relationships and diversifying revenue beyond reliance on small individual gifts, which grew only 1.4 percent after inflation.
Sources: Association of Fundraising Professionals Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Rural Health Nonprofits at the Limits of Resilience, Candid Analysis Finds
Rural health nonprofits are stretched to their limits by funding cuts and policy uncertainty, and the expectation that organizations can sustain their services by doing more with less has now reached its limits, according to a Candid analysis published Thursday by Ivonne Arauz Simms, MSEd. The analysis draws directly on conversations with rural health leaders, who explain why resilience alone is no longer a sufficient response to current funding conditions and why their organizations need direct philanthropic investment—not continued calls to increase efficiency.
Ken Griffin Gives $26 Million to Complete the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
Ken Griffin, the hedge fund billionaire, has given $26 million toward the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, a gift that will carry his name on a new west wing, Fortune reported Thursday. The library opens July 4, 2026—the 250th anniversary of American independence—and was designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. It is the only carbon-neutral presidential library in the country. Griffin has given approximately $2 billion to charitable causes in his lifetime and also owns both of the surviving private copies of the U.S. Constitution.
Paul Allen’s $3.1 Billion Estate Bequest, Paid Out Seven Years After His Death, Helped Set a U.S. Giving Record
A $3.1 billion bequest from the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who died in 2018, was paid out in 2025—seven years after his death—and significantly influenced the record U.S. charitable giving total for the year, according to a Fortune analysis. Bequest giving rose 16.6 percent after inflation to $62 billion in 2025, driven in part by the Allen payment. Individual giving’s share of total giving fell to 64 percent, its second-lowest level on record. Foundation giving hit an all-time high of $117 billion. A new universal charitable deduction takes effect in 2026 as part of federal tax legislation.
Evan Spiegel and Miranda Kerr Give to Undue Medical Debt, Erasing $550 Million for 261,000 Californians
Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel and his wife, model and entrepreneur Miranda Kerr, donated to Undue Medical Debt this spring, setting in motion the erasure of $550 million in unpaid medical bills for more than 261,000 Californians, Fortune reported Friday. San Diego County will see the largest share of the relief, about $99 million for roughly 40,000 residents. Recipients earning at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or whose medical debt exceeds 5 percent of annual income, are automatically eligible. Letters informing qualifying Californians their debt has been erased will begin arriving in mid-July.
Curated by JD · samwise.agency