High-net-worth donors are heading into 2026 with plans to keep writing checks, even as they brace for a messy economy and contentious politics.
A new Foundation Source survey of private foundations and donor-advised fund users found that roughly 93% of affluent donors expect to maintain or increase their giving this year, underscoring how resilient philanthropy has been through recent volatility.
Nearly half of respondents, 49%, said they intend to give more than they did in 2025, while some 46% expect to give about the same amount. Only 6% anticipate cutting back, often because they made unusually large gifts last year or are pausing to reassess strategy. Economic conditions (54%), the political climate (41%), and stock market performance (40%) were cited as the biggest influences on how donors view the broader charitable landscape, even as their own plans remain steady.
“Even amid economic and political uncertainty, today’s high-net-worth donors remain resilient and committed to their philanthropic missions,” said Joseph Mrak III, CEO of Foundation Source. “Their outlook reflects a strategic, long-term mindset focused on meaningful impact and a desire for the next generation to carry their values forward.”
The Foundation Source findings land as a new cohort of AI billionaires signals a willingness to part with a large share of their fortunes. All seven co-founders of Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI platform, recently pledged to donate 80% of their wealth. Each co-founder’s net worth is estimated in the billions, with those figures poised to grow alongside Anthropic’s soaring valuation.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that the bigger threat to workers may not just be job loss from AI, but “a level of wealth concentration that will break society.” Against that concern, the founders’ pledge could send tens of billions of dollars into philanthropic channels over time.
The company, which this week announced key partnerships with Orion and LPL, has itself already begun to deploy capital. In January, Anthropic announced a $1.5 million, two-year commitment to the Python Software Foundation to fund core infrastructure and new security tooling for the Python Package Index, a critical hub for open-source software. Earlier this month, it pledged $20 million to Public First Action, a new bipartisan nonprofit focused on AI policy, public education, and safeguards around advanced models.
"The AI policy decisions we make in the next few years will touch nearly every part of public life, from the labor market to online child protection to national security and the balance of power between nations," Anthropic said as it announced its donation to Public First Action. "In circumstances like these, we need good policy: flexible regulation that allows us to reap the benefits of AI, keep the risks in check, and keep America ahead in the AI race."
Foundation Source’s research suggests that even outside the AI elite, affluent donors are thinking more holistically about their giving. Making an impact on causes they care about emerged as the top priority (cited by 64%), followed by involving the next generation (37%), deepening relationships with grantees (37%), and ensuring consistent support for nonprofits (34%).
At the same time, donors say they struggle with how to prioritize among competing needs, create a bigger impact, and measure what they are actually achieving. Many believe they could be more effective by setting or refining annual giving goals, talking more with grantees, and explicitly integrating philanthropy into their financial plans.
“Our survey shows that donors want to be more intentional – setting annual goals, refining their approach, and integrating philanthropy with their financial plans,” said Gillian Howell, national philanthropy executive at Foundation Source. “Financial advisors have an opportunity to align clients’ charitable goals with their investment, tax, and legacy plans – bringing greater coordination and sophistication to their overall wealth strategy.”
Education and human services rank among the most popular issue areas, alongside religion, health, the environment and animals, and arts and humanities.
When asked to name their top five areas of interest, a 45% plurality of respondents said they were focused on best practices, followed by 36% who wanted to involve family in their philanthropy. Roughly a third also talked about the need to measure impact (33%), engage in tax-efficient planning (32%), and build a legacy (25%).
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