Aid To Ukraine Spurs Increased Giving, Fidelity Charitable Says

Americans are pouring their hearts—and wallets—out to help people in Ukraine, according to Fidelity Charitable.

Aid for Ukraine was a defining trend in donor grant making in the first half of the year, during which donations  increased despite the downturn in the markets and inflation, Fidelity Charitable said in a new report.

Donors recommended more than $128 million in grants to Ukraine aid efforts and organizations providing assistance to refugees, such as food, medical care, and temporary housing, saw significant spikes in support, the report said.

For example, International Medical Corps saw a more than tenfold increase in the number of donor-advised funds that recommended a grant compared to the first half of 2021. Similarly, the number of accounts supporting World Central Kitchen grew more than fivefold, the report noted.

“It is heartening to see so much support for nonprofits working on the ground, particularly in areas facing crises,” Fidelity Charitable President Jacob Pruitt said in a statement.

The situation is made more critical because nonprofits also are facing pressures from inflation and a down market, he added.

In the first half of 2022, donors recommended $4.8 billion in grants, an increase of 11% over the same period last year. The funds were given to nearly 125,000 charities through nearly one million individual grants,

The increase in giving was realized “even as current economic pressures have many tightening their budgets,” Fidelity Charitable said. The increase in the first half of 2022 follows a record-setting $10.3 billion granted in 2021. Economic concerns heightened in the first half of 2022, as the S&P 500 ended June down more than 20% from the beginning of the year, marking its worst half year since 1970, Fidelity Charitable said.

“In times of uncertainty, charitable giving can often be one of the first budget line items to be cut as everyday necessities take priority. For example, charitable giving in America dropped 12% from 2007 to 2009 during the country’s last prolonged recession,” the report said.