This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Many Americans encounter nonprofits in everyday life without recognizing those interactions as nonprofit service use, according to a new report from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, What Americans Think About Nonprofits & Philanthropy 2026. While only 7.4% of respondents reported that they or someone in their immediate family had received or used services from a charitable organization in the past year, 71.9% reported engaging in at least one activity typically provided by nonprofits.
That means nearly 90% of nonprofit users did not initially identify themselves as such. The report builds on research first conducted in 2023 and returns to core questions about public awareness, confidence and expectations for the nonprofit sector. It examines whether Americans recognize nonprofits' role in everyday life, whether they express confidence in the sector, and how policy and current events may shape views of charitable giving and the respective roles of nonprofits and government.
"From the after-school program down the block to the food bank down the street to the local performing arts stage, nonprofits are a central part of our community life," said Marselle Alexander-Ozinskas, program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. "This research points to the opportunity to speak more clearly about the sector's role in everyday life, and to build the public understanding and investment that a thriving nonprofit sector depends on—one that is well resourced, as varied as the people it serves, and present in every community." "The nonprofit sector is a part of everyday life in ways many people do not immediately identify," said Jon Bergdoll, interim director of data and research partnerships at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and lead analyst on the report. "That recognition gap matters.
It affects not just things like whether they donate, but how they react to events or policies that affect the nonprofit sector as a whole." The report also found that Americans continue to prefer foundations operating in perpetuity. Similar to the 2023 results, 78.7% of respondents believe foundations should reserve their assets to give over time or in perpetuity, compared with 21.3% who said foundations should give their assets away quickly or immediately. What Americans Think About Nonprofits & Philanthropy 2026 MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content.
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