FACTBOX: Charities and their donors

(Reuters) - A weak U.S. economy is crimping donations to charities, forcing some to curtail activities.

Some facts about U.S. charities and their donors:

* Two-thirds of American households have given something to charity -- with the average household donating $2,000 a year. Slightly more than half of households give every year, while 15 percent never do.

* U.S. charitable donations tend to drop about 1 percent during recession years and rise 4 percent in years of economic growth.

* There are roughly 1.2 million charities in the United States. A period of expansion is widely expected to end, and nonprofits with similar causes may consolidate. Charitable foundations number 72,000, double the number of 15 years ago.

* In 2007, a total of $306.4 billion was donated to charity in the United States, of which one-third was given to religious institutions. Of the total, $229 billion, or 75 percent, was donated by individuals. Adding in family-run foundations, individuals accounted for 88 percent of giving. Bequests accounted for 8 percent of donations, and corporations accounted for 5 percent.

* Charitable donations in response to disasters: U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes (2005) $5.3 billion; Pakistan earthquake (2005) $150 million; Myanmar cyclone (2008) $22 million; China earthquake (2008) $31 million; Indian Ocean tsunami (2004) $1.9 billion; September 11 (2001) terror attacks $2.8 billion.

* The world's largest charitable foundation is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which made about $2 billion in grants last year. Billionaire Warren Buffett is pouring $1.5 billion a year into the foundation, to which the pair have pledged the bulk of their combined wealth of $120 billion.

* Pharmaceutical companies were the top corporate givers, with some of the gifts in the form of drugs. Pfizer Inc gave $1.76 billion; Merck $828 million; Johnson & Johnson $497 million; Microsoft $432 million; Wal-Mart Stores Inc $301 million; Bank of America Corp $211 million; Exxon Mobil $173 million; Citigroup $146 million.

Sources: Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, Association of Corporate Contribution Professionals, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

(Compiled by Andrew Stern in Chicago)