Last year, roughly $557 billion was donated nationally, up 1.9% from the previous year, according to a report from the Giving USA Foundation. The organization found, however, that when adjusted for inflation, giving was actually down 2.1%.

Stacy Palmer, chief executive of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a nonprofit focused on philanthropy, said some of that was to be expected.

“During the pandemic, there was so much giving that poured out to deal with pandemic needs,” she said. “It’s not going to be quite at those same levels. Everybody expected a bit of the drop but if we got more Americans to give, the numbers would go up in a big way.”

Palmer said there have been shifts in who is giving to nonprofits now.

“The very wealthy have been giving generously and propping up what is a slide in donations from middle class donors. There’s been a drop in the last two decades in the number of Americans that give,” she said.

She added that this could be a concern as “wealthy people give to different causes that middle class donors.”

For example, a wealthy individual may have their name put on a building at a university whereas someone in the middle class may donate to a local foodbank instead.

“You’re not reflecting the needs of the community and its causes when you have the wealthy propping up the giving,” Palmer said.

Some of the top causes given to include religion, education, human services and health, according to the Giving USA Foundation.

Giving by Foundations increased by 1.7% last year to nearly $104 billion, the Giving USA Foundation found. That’s down 2.3% when adjusted for inflation. The amount given by individuals has declined when adjusted for inflation three of the last five years, according to the group.

Palmer said she does not expect to see the “two-decade-long slide” in giving by individuals reverse itself but said better education on nonprofits and public policy changes could impact giving levels.