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A large majority of Americans give of their money and time. Most estimates place the percentage of U.S. households that make charitable contributions each year at about 75 percent, and the percentage that volunteer at about 55 percent. In 2003, American households contributed an average of $1,100 to charity in 2003, and volunteered about 45 hours. Taking out households that gave nothing, the average contribution level was $1,825; among only households that volunteered a positive amount, the average annual number of hours was 202. About six percent of households contributed money to arts and culture organizations. Among these givers, the average amount donated was about $198.

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Arthur C. Brooks is a visiting scholar at AEI.