Government funding helped keep U.S. charities afloat during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study I conducted with Stephanie Karol, a fellow economist.
We found that charitable donations declined by more than an estimated 20% during that period – which preceded a sharp end-of-year upswing in giving in late 2020. But the government grants to nonprofits, which soared during those six months by over 65%, and the Paycheck Protection Program – a government-run loan program established to support employers as the pandemic upended the economy – enabled many charities to retain their employees.
