Volunteerism Has Recovered From Pandemic Low

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Majorities of Americans continue to support charitable causes, with 76% reporting that they gave money to a religious or other nonprofit organization in the past year and 63% saying they volunteered their time to such an organization.

Americans’ current levels of charitable activities are somewhat different from what they were in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial contributions have eased slightly, registering five percentage points lower than in 2021, but volunteering is seven points higher now.

Meanwhile, a steady 17% of U.S. adults say they gave blood in the past 12 months.

Gallup has periodically measured Americans’ volunteerism and donation behavior since 2001, including in eight comparable December readings. The latest data are from a Dec. 1-15, 2025, poll. The timing of the polling appears to affect the estimates, as Gallup has found lower estimates for some charitable activities in surveys taken in months other than December.

Americans More Charitably Active With Secular Than Religious Organizations

The figures for charitable donations and volunteering are based on four separate questions that ask Americans whether they donate money or time to religious organizations or any other charitable causes.

In recent years, as U.S. adults have become less likely to identify with a religion, they have also become less likely to report that they donate money to a religious group. The 41% of Americans saying in 2025 that they donated to a religious organization is the lowest to date, down 21 points from the initial measurement in 2001, including three points since 2021. At the same time, volunteering for a religious organization has been less variable, and it has ticked up four points to 39% in the latest poll, approaching its pre-pandemic level.

Americans have, with a few exceptions, been consistently more likely to say they have donated their money or time to secular rather than religious organizations. Still, the 69% of U.S. adults saying they have contributed to a nonreligious organization is down 10 points from 2001, including five points since 2021. Meanwhile, reports of volunteering for nonreligious groups have risen eight points since 2021 to 55%, the first majority-level reading for this measure.

Wealthier, More Educated Americans Most Likely to Contribute to Charity

Financial donations to charitable organizations in 2025 are more common among higher-income adults, those with higher educational attainment and those who are older. Volunteer activities are also more common among wealthier adults and those who have education beyond high school, but middle-aged adults are more likely than their younger and older counterparts to report volunteering.

These demographic patterns have been consistent over time.

Bottom Line

Americans remain broadly engaged in charitable activity, with roughly three-quarters reporting financial donations and more than three in five contributing time through volunteering. While giving money has softened modestly since inflation rose in 2021, volunteering has rebounded and now exceeds pandemic levels, suggesting that Americans are moving toward expressing civic commitment through time rather than dollars. Americans’ self-reported blood donation, by contrast, remains stable and limited to a relatively small share of adults.

At the same time, Americans’ charitable engagement continues to shift away from religious organizations and toward secular ones, mirroring long-term declines in religious affiliation and participation. Donating to religious groups is at its lowest level in Gallup’s trend, while volunteering for nonreligious organizations has reached a majority for the first time. These patterns point to a changing landscape for the charitable sector, in which nonreligious organizations may play a growing role in mobilizing volunteers, even as overall giving remains strongly tied to income, education and age.

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Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. View complete question responses and trends (PDF download).