"Washington - US charitable giving rose 6.1% to $260.28bn in 2005, fuelled by a record response to three major natural disasters, a study showed on Monday.
The report by the Giving USA Foundation tallied some $7.37bn in disaster relief - including the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in the United States and the major earthquake in Pakistan last October - that accounted for much of the increase in giving.
Without these extra amounts, charitable giving would have been essentially flat, after adjusting for inflation, the report noted.
""Disaster relief certainly played a role in 2005,"" said Richard Jolly, chair of the foundation.
""Relief contributions are estimated to be roughly three percent of the total. An additional $253bn in gifts supported more than 1.4 million charities including religious congregations, schools, clinics, arts groups, food banks, and more.""
Individual gifts
Overall gifts represented about 2.1% of US gross domestic product, according to the report, researched by Indiana University and seen as the most comprehensive analysis of US philanthropy.
Individual gifts were, as usual, the largest single source of donations, according to the report, accounting for $199.07bn or 76.5% of all estimated giving in 2005. The rest came from corporations, foundations and bequests in wills.
The amount from US households amounted to 2.2% of average household disposable after-tax income, exactly at the 40-year average.
Bequests fell
Charitable bequests fell an estimated 5.5% in 2005, largely due to a decline in the number of deaths, the report said. This accounted for $17.44bn or 6.7% of the total.
Foundation grants accounted for $30bn, or 11.5% of the total, and rose 5.6% from 2004.
Corporate donations
Corporate donations grew by an unprecedented 22.5% to $13.77bn, and accounted for 5.3% of the total.
""The high level of corporate giving is explained in part by two years of very strong growth in gross domestic product and by growth in corporate profits before taxes,"" said George Ruotolo, chair of the Giving Institute, the parent organisation of Giving USA Foundation.
""It also shows companies' exceptional response to disasters worldwide in 2005.""
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