Americans are stocking up on purchases this holiday season, for both themselves and loved ones. On Black Friday, online sales increased 9.1% over 2024, while Cyber Monday buying is expected to go up.
And, despite inflation and economic worries, charitable giving is also projected to rise this year during the annual GivingTuesday campaign. Last year, 36.1 million people in the United States (a little over 10% of the population) donated $3.6 billion on that day alone. GivingTuesday is now marked by local chapters in more than 100 countries.
The movement’s rapid global spread is testament to the near-universal value of what GivingTuesday co-founder Asha Curran calls “radical generosity” – an altruism she defines as “heartfelt, joyful, people-led, and … rooted in our capacity to care for one another.”
“Generosity as a value is, like love, a leveler,” Ms. Curran has written. It is demonstrated as “an expression of mutuality, solidarity, and reciprocity, not as a benevolence that the haves show to the have-nots.”
According to the 2025 World Giving Report, Africa is the most “generous” continent, despite its high poverty levels, with individuals donating an average of 1.54% of their income to charitable and religious causes. In wealthier Europe, that rate is 0.64%, dipping to 0.16% in Japan.
“It is notable that giving does not necessarily correlate with wealth or even security,” commented Neil Heslop, head of the Charities Aid Foundation, which produced the report.
Differing cultures of giving are influenced by individual perceptions of wealth, self-worth, and security – as well as by social and religious norms. “For so many people – their treasure is in their wealth,” wrote Elyse Kauffman, a consultant for a faith-based financial services firm, referring to a biblical passage about material riches. “Giving generously allows us to trust in God’s provision. And giving to others helps us tangibly practice trusting in God rather than [in] our riches or belongings.”
The correlation of well-being with religious affiliation, social connections, and altruism is well documented. Studies show that happiness or flourishing is often stronger in countries that may be poor, but have deep faith traditions as well as communal approaches to sharing resources – and solutions.
Sarah Cross, an executive at Stand Together, a philanthropic organization, points to the power of joint action. Together, the millions of small GivingTuesday gifts to nonprofit causes “can make a massive combined impact,” she wrote in USA Today this week.
“Contributing like this is inherently unifying,” Ms. Cross wrote, pushing back against the view that America’s problems are too big to solve by individuals and communities. “The best way to find the meaning we all want is to realize that we can help solve even the most seemingly insurmountable problems.”
“This Giving Tuesday,” she urged, “is the ideal time to recommit ourselves to [this] deeply fulfilling and desperately needed work.”
