Charity of Americans

According to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel:

• American individuals, estates, foundations, and corporations gave an estimated $240.72 billion to charitable causes in 2003, according to Giving USA 2004, a study released by Giving USA Foundation. This is an increase of 2.8 percent over a revised estimate of $234.09 billion for 2002. This is the highest rate of growth seen since 2000. Adjusted for inflation, 2003 giving rose 0.5 percent from 2002, slightly below the inflation-adjusted growth rate of 0.6 percent from 2001 to 2002. Giving USA, the annual report on philanthropy, is published by Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of the Trust for Philanthropy of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel (AAFRC). The study is researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

  Since 1998, charitable giving has been 2 percent or more of gross domestic product (GDP) following more than two decades below that mark. For 2003, total contributions are estimated to be 2.2 percent of GDP. The all-time high was 2.3 percent of GDP in 2000.

Keep in mind that in 2004, many Americans gave money to political campaigns and therefore it makes sense to me that Americans had less to give to charities. Of course, UN marxists maintain that charity only happens via government taxation.