The amount of money being donated to charitable endeavours by philanthropists in the US has suffered its sharpest fall in over half a century as the global recession forces donors to tighten their purse strings – but “it could have been a lot worse”, according to a new report.

US philanthropists donated a total of $307bn (£184bn) in 2008, equivalent to 2.2% of the country's gross domestic product and a 6% - adjusted for inflation - slump on the previous year. This is the biggest fall over 12 months since records began in 1956 and the first drop in 22 years.