The giving habits of residents in many U.S. cities have changed post-pandemic, with many regional giving patterns shifting and more donors giving to human services organizations, a report from Fidelity Charitable finds.

The report, the 2023 Geography of Giving (15 pages, PDF), compares geographic giving trends in 30 U.S. cities from the pre-pandemic year of 2019 to 2022. In multiple regions, donors increased grant recommendations for charities such as food banks, homeless shelters, and youth programs, making human services the most commonly supported issue area in the majority of the 30 largest cities in the study. The report also found that approximately 80 percent of Fidelity Charitable donors supported nonprofits in their local areas, with St. Louis and Salt Lake City the top two cities where locals recommended the highest percentage of grant dollars to local nonprofits.

According to the report, the trend toward human services followed geographic lines. Seven of the eight cities where human services became the top sector in 2022 are located on the East and West coasts. In six of the eight cities, the most popular sector previously was education. Cleveland claimed the new number-one ranking for percentage of donors who recommended grants to human services charities, the most popular charitable sector among Fidelity Charitable donors nationwide. Religion, which had been the top charitable sector in 2019, ranked as the most commonly supported cause in 12 of 18 cities across the central and southern United States.

“So much of the giving that happens in this country is influenced locally by the communities where people live, work, and pray,” said Fidelity Charitable president Jacob Pruitt. “By looking at the more than two million donor-recommended grants we made in 2022 through the lens of the communities where our donors live, we can help jump start conversations about giving priorities and creating local impact.” 

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