"People have had to make tough decisions about how they spend their money, and many have had to reduce the portion of their budget that goes to charity below what they normally give,” said Patrick M. Rooney, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy , which co-authored the research.

When it comes to where they gave their money, Americans tended to focus on human services and international aid. They gave less to arts groups and churches.

Here are the amounts given to each category:

RELIGION: Total giving to religious organizations totaled $95.88 billion in 2011, down nearly 5 percent in inflation-adjusted terms.

EDUCATION: Giving totaled $38.87 billion in 2011 for education, which was flat with 2010 when adjusted for inflation.

FOUNDATIONS: Giving to foundations fell 9 percent, adjusted for inflation, to $25.8 billion.

HUMAN SERVICES: Donations increased only slightly for human services and totaled $35.4 billion. But the total levels were the third highest ever recorded for the category.

HEALTH: Donations total $24.75 billion to health-related groups, roughly flat with last year.

INTERNATIONAL – Gving to international affairs grew 4 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, to $22.7 billion. This sector has grown much faster than the overall charitable giving sector since 1987.

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