Charitable giving, once a defining feature of American life, is quietly slipping out of fashion.
In recent years, the share of Americans who donate to charity has fallen sharply. Two decades ago, roughly two-thirds of US households gave to charitable causes. Today, it’s closer to half. Among the ultra-wealthy, there is a new and growing backlash to philanthropic giving, as detailed in a recent New York Times report.
Giving has long been a reflection of American identity, and these trends show something deeper. Part of this decline is economic—many Americans simply feel too squeezed to give as they once did. But the bigger problem today is that fewer Americans feel connected to the organizations and communities that once anchored giving. The country has fewer shared experiences that bring people together around common purpose. So what can we do?
As the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, the country needs a unifying national effort. There will be no shortage of celebrations and patriotic displays across the country for the nation’s Semiquincentennial. But at a time of deep division and declining civic participation, the country needs less show and more substance when it comes to patriotism.
Here’s one idea: let’s establish a new national tradition of giving.
We should strive to make July 4th, 2026, the single largest day of charitable giving in American history. Call it “Giving 4th.” This will be a day when giving back becomes part of the Fourth of July celebration itself. A live, nationally broadcast giveathon–something akin to Live Aid on steroids–could bring that moment to life.
We know this model works. Giving Tuesday, launched just over a decade ago, has become a global movement and generated $4 billion in charitable donations in a single day in 2025, with more than 38 million Americans participating. That campaign showed that a single, well-defined campaign can reshape behavior at scale. But American philanthropy still has a structural gap. Giving is heavily concentrated at the end of the year, leaving nonprofits scrambling to sustain momentum in the months between.
Giving 4th would help change that. It would create a powerful mid-year moment that allows nonprofits, communities, and donors to plan earlier and drive more sustained impact. We have the potential to change the structural paradigm of how non-profits raise funds so they can do what they do best.
These types of shared moments are lacking in today’s culture. But they have the potential to bring inspiration at scale. As a child, I remember watching the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethons for Muscular Dystrophy, and marveling as people came together to give what they could. I was the daughter of a single mother who raised me and my eight siblings in Hayward, California, and those telethons left an indelible impression on me that generosity wasn’t reserved for the wealthy, but something everyone could be a part of. The Jerry Lewis telethon lasted for 45 years and ended in 2010. We need our Jerry Lewis moment all over again and Giving 4th could provide that. And just as Jerry Lewis helped champion that effort, perhaps a modern version of that celebrity leadership, drawn from across different generations of pop culture, could anchor this moment.
The groundwork for this kind of national effort is already being laid. Giving 4th builds on the momentum of broader national efforts to expand civic participation during the 250th anniversary, including an initiative by America250 called America Gives aimed at making this the largest year of volunteer service in U.S. history. The goal now is to extend that spirit of service into charitable giving.
If successful, Giving 4th could become a permanent fixture in the American giving calendar–a tradition repeated every July 4th, and a legacy of the 250th anniversary that encourages all Americans to ‘give early and give often.’ It would showcase how giving back represents the best part of the American spirit.
Skeptics may question whether the country is too divided for something like this to succeed. I think that logic is backwards. At times like this, when it can feel like the country is pulling apart, Americans are hungry for a unifying effort to pull it together. Even in Washington, there are encouraging signs that this milestone can unite: just this week, the bipartisan Congressional America250 Caucus has grown to more than 400 members, an unprecedented milestone and surprising show of bipartisanship in today’s political climate. And if Congress can put politics aside for the 250th, I believe the rest of the country can do the same.
If giving is becoming less common than it was in previous decades, it is in large part because we have fewer shared moments that call us to it. Consumer behavior is very hard to change unless there is a shock to the system. Welcome to your shock.
America always rises to the occasion. But we need a call to action that is big and inspiring enough to bring people with it. If July 4, 2026 is going to have any meaning, it needs to be meaningful for everyone. What better way to mark our historic 250th anniversary than with a clear invitation to all 350 million Americans: it’s time to give back by Giving 4th.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
