Grant dollars awarded in 2021 through donor-advised funds at the National Philanthropic Trust totaled more than $5.15 billion, a 15 percent year-over-year increase and an increase of 212 percent compared with pre-pandemic giving in 2019.

In 2021, the trust awarded a total of 95,717 grants, an increase of 12 percent from 2020 and a 53 percent increase from pre-pandemic giving in 2019, with all eight charitable subsectors seeing an increase in grant volume. A total of 32,529 charities across the United States and around the world received donor-recommended grants, representing a 13 percent increase from 2020 and a 38 percent increase from 2019.

“While the world continued to evolve, our donors maintained an intense interest in giving. NPT grants tripled in value compared to pre-pandemic philanthropy in 2019 and we supported a record number of grantees,” said NPT chief executive Eileen Heisman. “Our grantmaking surged at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and exceeded initial historic levels in 2021. NPT donors remained loyal to the organizations they supported in the past while continuing to recommend additional grants to new organizations in response to the pandemic and other equity and social issues. When I spoke with our donors throughout 2021, and especially during Giving Season, they talked about how passionate they were to support many causes and charities, both new and old. DAF donors are proactive philanthropists who authentically want to use their DAF dollars to make an impact locally, nationally, and internationally.”

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