While headlines often focus on record-breaking profits, U.S. corporations quietly funneled nearly $30 billion into charitable causes in 2022, a testament to a growing and strategic commitment to social impact that goes far beyond the checkbook.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, U.S. corporations gave $29.48 billion to charity, marking a 3.4% increase from 2021 after inflation adjustment
- Corporate charitable contributions reached $21.82 billion in 2021, up 0.2% from 2020 in current dollars
- Global corporate philanthropy totaled approximately $150 billion in 2021 according to estimates
- U.S. corporate giving declined 4.2% in 2020 to $19.4 billion due to COVID-19
- Corporate philanthropy rose 10.5% from 2018 to 2019 reaching record highs
- From 2021 to 2022, corporate giving increased by $1 billion nominally
- Tech sector led with 25% of total corporate giving in 2022
- Financial services contributed 12% of U.S. corporate philanthropy or $3.5 billion in 2022
- Healthcare/pharma industry donated $5.2 billion representing 18% of total in 2021
- Walmart donated $1.45 billion in 2022, topping corporate givers list
- Wells Fargo gave $389.1 million in 2022, second largest donor
- Bank of America contributed $368 million in 2022 philanthropy
- Education received 23% of corporate giving or $6.9 billion in 2022
- Human services got 21% or $6.2 billion from corps in 2022
- Health organizations received 16% or $4.7 billion corporate support 2022
Corporate charitable giving set new records in 2022 with broad and growing business support.
Aggregate Giving Levels
- In 2022, U.S. corporations gave $29.48 billion to charity, marking a 3.4% increase from 2021 after inflation adjustment
- Corporate charitable contributions reached $21.82 billion in 2021, up 0.2% from 2020 in current dollars
- Global corporate philanthropy totaled approximately $150 billion in 2021 according to estimates
- U.S. corporate giving as a percentage of pre-tax profits was 1.02% in 2022
- Foundations funded by corporations distributed $23.5 billion in 2021
- Corporate cash donations amounted to $16.8 billion in 2022, excluding in-kind and foundation giving
- Total corporate giving including products/services valued at $4.5 billion in 2021
- U.S. businesses contributed $557 billion in total economic impact through philanthropy in 2020
- Corporate giving hit a record $30 billion in 2019 pre-pandemic
- Employee giving through corporate matches totaled $2.1 billion in 2022
- Corporate giving grew 5.1% in 2023 to an estimated $31 billion
- Non-cash corporate donations reached $7.2 billion in 2022
- Corporate support to higher education was $10.3 billion in 2022
- Tech sector corporate giving totaled $12.4 billion in 2022
- Corporate giving to international causes was $3.8 billion in 2021
- U.S. corporate giving per employee averaged $1,248 in 2022
- Total corporate philanthropy in Europe estimated at €45 billion in 2022
- Canadian corporate donations reached CAD 2.1 billion in 2022
- Australian businesses gave AUD 4.5 billion in 2021
- Corporate giving in Asia-Pacific hit $25 billion USD equivalent in 2022
- U.S. Fortune 500 companies donated $25.7 billion in 2022
- Small and medium enterprises contributed 15% of total U.S. corporate giving or $4.4 billion in 2022
- Corporate venture philanthropy investments totaled $1.2 billion in 2021
- In-kind donations from food companies valued at $2.8 billion in 2022
- Corporate matching gifts programs disbursed $1.8 billion in 2022
- Total U.S. corporate giving to arts/culture was $1.9 billion in 2022
- Health-related corporate donations reached $6.5 billion in 2021
- Environment/climate corporate giving surged to $4.1 billion in 2022
- Disaster relief corporate contributions totaled $2.3 billion post-2022 events
- Corporate giving to K-12 education was $2.7 billion in 2022
Aggregate Giving Levels Interpretation
While American corporations are giving more than ever in absolute terms, the fact that their charitable contributions still represent just over one percent of pre-tax profits suggests they’re taking their "giving back" motto with a very literal and conservative sense of scale.
Giving by Cause Area
- Education received 23% of corporate giving or $6.9 billion in 2022
- Human services got 21% or $6.2 billion from corps in 2022
- Health organizations received 16% or $4.7 billion corporate support 2022
- International affairs/relief 10% or $2.9 billion in 2022
- Environment and animals 8% totaling $2.4 billion corporate donations 2022
- Arts, culture, humanities 7% or $2.1 billion in 2022
- Public benefit/safety 6% $1.8 billion from businesses 2022
- Youth development 5% or $1.5 billion corporate giving 2022
- Religion received 2% minimal $600 million in 2022
- Science/tech R&D 2% $590 million corporate funds 2022
Giving by Cause Area Interpretation
Corporate giving paints a portrait of a society investing most heavily in the minds it will employ and the bodies that will serve them, while leaving the soul and the soil with whatever loose change is left after the board meeting.
Industry Sector Breakdown
- Tech sector led with 25% of total corporate giving in 2022
- Financial services contributed 12% of U.S. corporate philanthropy or $3.5 billion in 2022
- Healthcare/pharma industry donated $5.2 billion representing 18% of total in 2021
- Retail and consumer goods gave $4.1 billion or 14% in 2022
- Energy and utilities sector philanthropy at 8% or $2.4 billion in 2022
- Manufacturing industries contributed 10% totaling $2.9 billion in 2021
- Telecommunications firms donated $1.8 billion, 6% of corporate total in 2022
- Food and beverage sector giving reached $2.2 billion or 7.5% in 2022
- Real estate and construction donated 4% or $1.2 billion in 2021
- Transportation/logistics corps gave $1.5 billion, 5% share in 2022
- Media/entertainment industry philanthropy at $900 million, 3% of total 2022
- Chemicals sector contributed $800 million or 2.7% in 2021
- Aerospace/defense firms donated $1.1 billion, 4% in 2022
- Insurance industry giving totaled $1.3 billion, 4.5% of corporate donations 2022
- Hospitality/tourism sector at $700 million or 2.4% in 2021 recovery
- Agriculture corps donated $600 million, 2% share in 2022
- Mining sector philanthropy $500 million or 1.7% in 2021
- Professional services firms gave $2.6 billion, 9% of total 2022
- Automotive industry contributed $1.4 billion, 5% in 2022
- Semiconductors/tech hardware $3.2 billion, 11% share 2022
Industry Sector Breakdown Interpretation
While the tech sector's top-donor status suggests they hope to debug society's glitches, the real story is that corporate philanthropy is a sprawling, multi-trillion-dollar ecosystem where even the most unglamorous industries are writing substantial checks to shape our world.
Top Corporate Donors
- Walmart donated $1.45 billion in 2022, topping corporate givers list
- Wells Fargo gave $389.1 million in 2022, second largest donor
- Bank of America contributed $368 million in 2022 philanthropy
- JPMorgan Chase donated $337.5 million in 2022
- Goldman Sachs gave $319 million in 2022
- Google (Alphabet) donated $1.2 billion including employee matches in 2022
- Microsoft contributed $827 million in 2022 corporate giving
- Pfizer donated $445 million in 2022, focused on health
- Coca-Cola gave $193 million in 2022 globally
- Home Depot donated $222 million in 2022
- Comcast contributed $199 million in 2022
- Verizon donated $158 million in 2022
- Target gave $192 million in 2022 philanthropy
- Intel donated $290 million including foundations in 2022
- Cisco Systems gave $152 million in 2022
- Lowe's contributed $170 million in 2022
- Johnson & Johnson donated $575 million in 2022 health focus
- Procter & Gamble gave $126 million in 2022
- Starbucks donated $125 million in 2022
- Amazon contributed $387 million in 2022 via AWS credits and cash
- ExxonMobil gave $200 million in 2022 community investments
- Chevron donated $150 million in 2022 philanthropy
- Apple contributed $200 million+ in education grants 2022
- IBM donated $100 million in 2022 tech for good
- Oracle gave $145 million in 2022
- Salesforce contributed $500 million cumulative but $120 million annual 2022
Top Corporate Donors Interpretation
While Walmart's charitable crown is impressively heavy, the collective corporate philanthropy ledger reads less like a generosity contest and more like a stark reminder that for every dollar given, there's a calculated balance between societal need and the bottom line.
Year-over-Year Trends
- U.S. corporate giving declined 4.2% in 2020 to $19.4 billion due to COVID-19
- Corporate philanthropy rose 10.5% from 2018 to 2019 reaching record highs
- From 2021 to 2022, corporate giving increased by $1 billion nominally
- Post-2020 recovery saw 14% growth in corporate donations by 2023
- Corporate giving as % of GDP stable at 0.11% from 2019-2022
- Inflation-adjusted corporate giving grew 2.8% annually 2017-2022 average
- Employee volunteerism hours increased 20% from 2020 to 2022
- Matching gift participation rose 15% year-over-year in 2022
- Corporate foundation assets grew 5% from 2021 to 2022 to $800 billion
- Tech industry giving up 8% from 2021-2022
- Energy sector donations fell 12% in 2020 then rebounded 18% by 2022
- Retail corporate giving surged 25% in 2021 amid pandemic
- Overall corporate giving CAGR 4.2% from 2015-2022
- International corporate giving increased 7% annually 2018-2022
- U.S. corporate giving to bounce back 6% in 2024 projections
- Decline in grants from corporate foundations by 2% in 2020
- Product donations up 30% from 2019-2022 due to supply chain shifts
- Corporate DEI giving peaked in 2021 then dropped 11% by 2023
- Volunteer grants rose 22% year-over-year in 2023 surveys
- Corporate giving to environment doubled from 2019 to 2022
- Health giving up 40% from pre-pandemic levels by 2022
- Education corporate support steady with 1% annual growth 2018-2022
- Arts funding from corps down 15% 2020 then partial recovery 5% by 2022
- Disaster giving spiked 300% in 2020 then normalized -20% in 2021
- Finance sector giving grew 9% annually 2019-2023
- Pharma donations increased 35% from 2020-2022 on vaccine efforts
- Automotive industry giving down 5% yearly average 2018-2022
- Tech giants' giving up 12% YoY in 2023
- Manufacturing corps giving stable 0-2% growth 2020-2023
Year-over-Year Trends Interpretation
Corporate philanthropy, ever the moody barometer of economic and social weather, took a predictable pandemic dip but has since been flexing its generosity muscle with impressive resilience, proving that while companies may occasionally clutch their pearls (and wallets), the long-term trend of their giving is a cautiously optimistic march toward greater, if strategically varied, engagement.
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