The 250-year-long friendship between France and the United States has been defined by centuries of generous acts and mutual support, and philanthropy has continuously played a defining role in it. While charitable traditions have developed differently on each side of the Atlantic, both countries are responding to many of the same challenges: from advancing scientific research and improving educational outcomes to preserving cultural heritage and protecting the environment.
Recent philanthropic insights about France and the United States reveal an encouraging picture: generosity is growing on both sides of the Atlantic, while giving priorities are evolving. Today, donors increasingly recognize that our world’s most pressing challenges require long-term, collaborative solutions.
At the same time, philanthropy in France and the United States shows different giving priorities, demonstrating the possibilities that new perspectives and different strategies create for innovative solutions. When generosity crosses borders, it can help bridge these priorities, creating opportunities to come together around shared visions for the future. At Friends of Fondation de France, we see first-hand how American support for nonprofit organizations across France helps bring those shared goals together in a way that not only helps build a brighter future, but brings our countries closer together.
Giving in the United States: Sustained Investment in the Public Good
This year, the Giving USA Report revealed that charitable giving in 2025 in the United States surpassed $600 billion for the first time, reaching a record $617.2 billion. Total giving increased by 5.7%.
The top three causes, in order, were giving to religion, human services, and education. Growth was particularly strong in education, public-society benefit, and environmental organizations, while giving to health, arts and culture, and human services also reached new highs.
Together, these trends suggest that American donors are looking beyond immediate needs to invest in institutions that strengthen society over time: supporting innovation, expanding opportunity, and preserving the cultural and civic infrastructure that benefits future generations.
Giving in France: An Increasingly Interconnected Vision of Philanthropy
Giving in France shows an emphasis on adapting to the current and evolving challenges of our time, based on the understanding that effective solutions can’t focus on one problem at a time. In 2025, Fondation de France, the leading philanthropic network in the country, hosted 974 foundations under its aegis, and mobilized €453 million to charitable projects across all sectors, 22% more than the previous year.
According to Fondation de France’s 2026 Philanthropy Barometer, led by l’Observatoire Philanthropie & Société, the number of foundations and endowment funds has more than doubled over the past decade, with more than 6,000 philanthropic organizations now active across the country. Their combined expenditures exceeded €18 billion in 2024.
Just as significant is the way philanthropy itself is evolving. Nearly one in two recently created French foundations now supports multiple causes simultaneously, a notable shift from previous decades. Rather than addressing issues in isolation, French philanthropy increasingly recognizes that today’s challenges are interconnected, requiring solutions that bring together culture, research, education, health, environmental stewardship, and social cohesion.
Since 2020, arts and culture have become the leading area of programs and granting, while environmental causes have experienced particularly rapid growth. Education and social welfare have become the next leading causes.
U.S. Giving to France: Shared Priorities Across Borders
At Friends of Fondation de France, we see how donors in the U.S., whether French expatriates, francophiles, or those who support the missions of impactful French institutions, bring their vision to shared goals across the Atlantic.
In 2025, Friends of Fondation de France facilitated more than $11.1 million in charitable giving from the U.S. to nonprofit organizations across France, a 23% increase over the previous year. Virtually every sector of philanthropy was supported, spanning arts, culture, and heritage, civic values, education, emergency response, environment, health, human services, international development, research, and youth. The leading causes supported by U.S. donors were arts, culture, and heritage, followed by scientific research and health.
While these priorities reflect the unique strengths of Friends of Fondation de France’s nonprofit partners, they also mirror broader developments taking place in both countries. Cultural institutions are increasingly recognized as essential contributors to civic life and social cohesion. Research continues to drive innovation and improve lives through scientific discovery. Funding health remains central to building resilient communities capable of responding to today’s evolving challenges.
Yet these insights don’t exactly reflect giving in either country. Instead, they demonstrate different priorities that have the potential to extend well beyond national borders. Support for French world-renowned arts and cultural institutions and historic landmarks helps protect our shared global heritage, while contributing to scientific research and health advancements helps further discoveries can improve lives far beyond France.
Taken together, these giving patterns demonstrate that American philanthropy supporting projects in France reflects a shared confidence in the ability of cultural, scientific, and health institutions to shape a better future.
Building the Future Together
Although French and American philanthropy have developed within different historical and institutional traditions, they are growing around many similar priorities: supporting people and and future generations, strengthening communities, and responding to complex societal challenges with long-term vision.
Perhaps most importantly, philanthropy in both countries recognizes that meaningful progress rarely comes from addressing a single issue in isolation. Whether supporting scientific breakthroughs, preserving historic landmarks, expanding educational opportunities, or fostering artistic creation, donors increasingly understand that these efforts reinforce one another, creating stronger, healthier, and more connected societies.
Cross-border philanthropy creates something different. Rather than simply reflecting the priorities of one country or the other, U.S. giving to France brings together complementary strengths. In doing so, U.S. donors support not only French nonprofit organizations, but knowledge, innovation, and cultural exchange that benefit communities on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
As Friends of Fondation de France celebrates 250 years of French-American friendship alongside both countries, each gift represents more than support for an individual project. It contributes to a broader tradition of cooperation, progress, and shared responsibility that continues to shape a better world for all.
