Charitable giving fell to an estimated $303.75 billion in 2009, a drop of 3.6 percent from a revised total of $315.08 billion in 2008, a new report from the Giving USA Foundation finds. Because the overall economy experienced slight price deflation in 2009, the year-over-year inflation-adjusted decline was 3.2 percent.

Other highlights:

• individual giving was flat in 2009 when adjusted for inflation
• bequests fell 23.9 percent
• corporate giving rose 5.5 percent (ot in Utah!)
• private, community, and operating foundation giving fell 8.9 percent

Biggest declines in types of recipients were capital campaigns, endowment gifts, and donations of art and property.

Giving to foundations and education, arts and culture, and public-society benefit organizations, for instance, declined while Health, human services, international aid, and environment/animal-related organizations saw increases. This is also true in Utah

And as always, giving to religion comprised the largest share of all contributions, coming in at an estimated $100.95 billion, or 33 percent of total giving, a year-over-year decline of 0.7 percent.