Estimated charitable giving reached $248.52 billion for 2004, an increase of 5 percent before inflation and a new record for philanthropic giving in the United States, according to the latest report from the Giving USA Foundation, the educational and research arm of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel.

The report, Giving USA 2005, found that charitable giving in the United States rose 2.3 percent, adjusted for inflation, the first real increase since 2000. As in past years, churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious entities continued to claim the largest share of Americans' generosity, receiving more than $88 billion in donations, or one-third of all charitable giving. Educational institutions received the next-biggest slice — $34 billion — while nonprofit health groups received $22 billion. According to the report, there was growth in all but two categories: international charities and human services organizations.

"The economy is improving, and that shows up in the numbers," said Eugene R. Tempel, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which compiled the report. The growth in giving, added Tempel, was due primarily to healthy increases in donations from corporations and foundations, as well as increased bequests.

Giving by foundations totaled $28.8 billion, or 11.6 percent of all charitable contributions, an increase of 4.5 percent, adjusted for inflation, while donations from individuals, which account for the bulk of giving, rose 4 percent. The report notes, however, that giving by individuals has yet to return to the levels of the late 1990s. In 1999, for instance, charitable giving as a percentage of personal income was 2.2 percent, while last year it was just 1.9 percent.