Whether it’s humanitarian aid for Sudan or food banks closer to home, one thing remains constant: a lot of people are in need.

While that need is year-round, December is giving season — the time of year when Americans are most inclined to reach into their pocketbooks and donate to the causes they care about. And it kicks off with GivingTuesday — an annual day of charitable donations that takes place the week following Thanksgiving.

What You Need To Know

  • December is the time when Americans are most inclined to reach into their pocketbooks and donate to the causes they care about

  • Giving season kicks off with GivingTuesday — an annual day of charitable donations that takes place the week following Thanksgiving

  • According to a Charity Navigator survey of 1,400 respondents from the last week of October, 41% of those surveyed said they plan to give the same amount to charities this year and 32% said they plan to give more

  • Last year, 36.1 million Americans donated $3.6 billion on GivingTuesday — up from $3.1 billion in 2023

“In a year full of tension and anxiety, generosity is the one thing that is holding steady,” Charity Navigator chief operations and programs officer Laura Andes told Spectrum News. “Donors aren’t pulling back. They’re giving intentionally.”

According to a Charity Navigator survey of 1,400 respondents from the last week of October, 41% said they plan to give the same amount to charities this year and 32% said they plan to give more.

Last year, 36.1 million Americans contributed $3.6 billion on GivingTuesday, according to the nonprofit crowdfunding platform for grassroots charitable projects. About half of last year’s participants made financial contributions, but many people also gave goods or volunteered. That’s up from $3.1 billion in donations and 34 million participants in 2023, according to GivingTuesday.

“We’re really optimistic that GivingTuesday is going to be very strong,” Andes said.

Throughout the year so far, giving has followed what Andes calls “need cycles” that largely align with the news.

The need cycle began this year with the Los Angeles wildfires, prompting donations to charities to help survivors, she said, before morphing into groups that help with humanitarian aid following the Trump administration’s defunding of the U.S. Agency for International Development and contributions to immigrant rights groups amid federal immigration enforcement operations.

“People see something happening in their community, and this is a way for them to affect change in a positive way,” Andes said.

Charity Navigator is a website that evaluates nonprofit charities based on their financial health, accountability and transparency and helps donors figure out which organizations are the best fit for their charitable dollars. This year, the site is highlighting dozens of organizations providing hunger relief, veterans and military assistance and aid for people impacted by Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.

Among individuals who contribute to charities, they usually donate to three of four organizations, Andes said.

While people who contribute $1-$100 dollars make up half of all donors, they contributed just 1.9% of total dollars raised in the first half of the year, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project; supersize donors who contribute at least $50,000 made up 50% of total dollars raised through the first half of 2025 compared with a year earlier.

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project said nonprofits engaged 2% fewer donors through the first half of the year compared with 2024. Still, organizations reported a 3% increase in the amount of money they raised, as large donors made up an increasing percentage of dollars brought in.

So far this year, organizations dedicated to promoting health, welfare and social services have made up 29% of donations, followed by education (16.8%), according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project.