Feb 16, 2021
Editor’s note: The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Today’s piece is by David Campbell of Binghamton University, State University of New York; Elizabeth J. Dale of Seattle University, and Jasmine McGinnis Johnson of George Washington University.
(THE CONVERSATION) — According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the top 50 Americans who gave the most to charity in 2020 committed to giving a total of US$24.7 billion to hospitals, homeless shelters, universities, museums and more – a boost of roughly 54% from 2019 levels. David Campbell, Elizabeth Dale and Jasmine McGinnis Johnson, three scholars of philanthropy, assess what these gifts mean, the possible motivations behind them and what they hope to see in the future in terms of charitable giving in the United States.