U.S. charitable giving had a good year, not a great year, in 2025, up 3%, adjusted for inflation, to $617.2 billion. The big factor: bequests -- gifts left through wills -- which rose 16.5% to $62.2 billion, according to the Giving USA Foundation. Bequests have risen in three of the past four years, a pattern that holds over recent five-year periods, says Jon Bergdoll, interim director of data and research partnerships at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which researched and wrote the report.
"We've had three straight years of strong growth from financial markets, and we know that contributes to larger net worth and larger estates," Bergdoll says. "The big question is if this is the only driver, or if we're also starting to see the effect from the 'Great Wealth' transfer."
Foundations also boosted giving by an inflation-adjusted 3% to $117 billion from a 0.6% gain in 2024, likely because of strong markets and a 32.6% jump in contributions to foundations in 2024. Some foundations pledged to give more because of government spending cuts to nonprofits, "so that element is in the mix," says Bergdoll. Giving by individuals, the biggest contributor by far, and corporations edged up 1% and 0.5%, respectively last year.
Education benefited the most, with donations rising 8.9% last year. Public-society benefit organizations -- civil rights, social action, and advocacy groups -- gained 8.7%. Religious giving was flat, continuing a 20-year trend, Bergdoll says.
Write to Abby Schultz at abby.schultz@barrons.com
Last Week
Markets
Despite threats from both sides to continue strikes, weekend talks between the U.S. and Iran ended on a positive note. Oil prices fell as shipping resumed and the U.S. dropped Iran sanctions for 60 days. In the U.K., Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was resigning. On Monday, global tech sold off, with SpaceX down 16.4% -- below its opening price; shares bounced back after Micron Technology quadrupled revenue, then fell as Apple raised prices. On the week, the Dow industrials rose 0.6%, the S&P 500 fell 2%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.6%.
Companies
China added 10 U.S. companies to its export control list, including MP Materials and USA Rare Earth. Anthropic's Mythos penetrated the National Security Agency's classified systems in hours. Google DeepMind senior scientist and Nobel Prize winner John Jumper left for Anthropic. Investors asked Apollo Global Management's flagship private-credit fund to redeem 17% of its shares. Chevron signed a 20-year deal with Microsoft to supply power to data centers. Memory-chip maker SK Hynix is planning a $29 billion U.S. listing. S&P Global named Alphabet to the Dow Jones Industrial Average; Honeywell Aerospace will join the S&P 500.
Deals
Qualcomm agreed to buy AI software firm Modular for $3.9 billion...ON Semiconductor will buy Synaptics for $7 billion.
Milestone: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan died at 100.
Next Week
Tuesday, 6/30
Nike reports fourth-quarter fiscal-2026 results. Analysts project earnings per share of 13 cents on $10.8 billion in sales. Shares of the sneaker giant are down 36% this year and are trading at 2014 levels.
Wednesday, 7/1
The Institute for Supply Management releases its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for June. Consensus estimate is for a 53.8 reading, slightly less than in May. The index has been above 50 every month this year, indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. In the previous three years there were only two monthly readings at or above 50.
Thursday 7/2
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the jobs report for June. Economists forecast a 113,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls after a 172,000 gain in May. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.3%. The labor market is on solid footing after looking wobbly last year. Job growth has averaged 114,000 a month so far this year, compared with just 10,000 a month last year.
Friday 7/3
Stock and bond markets are closed in observance of Independence Day.
The Numbers
100 K
The number of jobs Volkswagen has said it would cut, including the closing of four German factories.
$125 B
The value of goods on some 1,150 ships stranded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war.
$240 B
Venezuela's debt, beating estimates of $150 billion to $200 billion, and over twice the size of the economy.
$1.4 T
The record volume of margin debt on securities in May, up 8.5% from April and 53.7% year over year.
Write to Robert Teitelman at robrt.teitelman@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 26, 2026 19:07 ET (23:07 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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