Taken at face value, Americans are a fairly generous people. Nine out of 10 of us donate to charity every year.9 In 2014, these donations amounted to more than $359 billion—roughly 2 percent of the country’s GDP.10 Some of this comes from corporations or charitable foundations, but more than 70 percent is donated by individuals—men and women who tithe at church, sponsor public radio, support children’s hospitals, and give back to their alma maters (see Table 2). Of course, it’s not just Americans; citizens of other developed countries are similarly generous, give or take.
