When anyone who gives to charitable causes gets 14 letters seeking additional contributions in one day, it’s easy to understand why charitable giving dropped in 2022.

Charitable giving in the United States declined in 2022 for only the fourth time in four decades. The Associated Press said donations had been increasing year over year.

Total giving fell 3.4% to $499.3 billion in current dollars, a drop of 10.5% when adjusted for inflation. The AP said the decline comes at a time when many nonprofits, especially ones providing services to those in need, report an increase in requests for help.

Despite the drop in giving, those involved in contributions tried to put an optimistic face on the decline. An official with the Giving USA Foundation said the results are much better than they could have been considering the tough economic climate of late 2022.

“I go back and forth on whether it’s encouraging or discouraging,” he said. “There was a 20% to 25% decline in the stock market and an 8% inflation rate, but Americans still gave nearly a half-trillion dollars.”

An official with a philanthropy school at Indiana University said the 2022 donations came after two record-setting years for charitable giving, driven by the unprecedented needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. She did admit there are some areas of concern.

“At the beginning of the 21^st century, two-thirds of Americans gave,” she said. “Today, that is down to under 50% for the first time. So giving has grown, but fewer people are participating.”

Perhaps the 14 letters I got Wednesday are one major reason why fewer people are participating. I get too many letters most days and that has frustrated me for more years than I can remember. And many others have said they have had similar experiences.

I have thought many times about putting a note with every contribution I make saying if I get any more letters during the year from that organization, it would be my last contribution. However, I figured that would just be a lost cause.

When I complained to my late wife, Jo Ann, about getting all these letters, she just said, “Look at it this way — the revenue helps the Post Office that always loses money.”

OK, now some other pet peeves about charitable contributions.

As if letters weren’t bad enough, those solicitation requests also come by e-mails, cell phones and text messages. Contributors are hounded constantly.

The March of Dimes sends a dime with each request. I made one contribution when the first dime came this year and I’m just keeping the other dimes that arrive.

One of those 14 letters I got Wednesday had this note outside — “Yes, that’s a real dollar bill inside.”

Now, that’s one that really galls me. I got some dollar bills from the Nielsen rating company that either wanted me to rate TV shows or radio broadcasts. I can’t remember which. I don’t watch that much TV and only listen to satellite radio music.

I sent the first dollar bill back, telling Nielsen I wasn’t interested, but one or two more dollars still showed up in the mail. I think I just kept the last one.

Some charity sent me a John F. Kennedy half-dollar coin on two occasions that are still sitting on top of a box on my dresser. When is the last time anyone has used a half-dollar coin (which used to be called a 50-cent piece)?

Unicef USA got a contribution from me, and another letter the organization sent Wednesday asked on the envelope — “Can you spare 9 cents to save a child?”

Who wouldn’t spare 9 cents to save a child? Why doesn’t the March of  Dimes send some of its dimes to Unicef USA?

I always give medical organizations the highest priority. M.D. Anderson, for example, gave great care to my wife. I have macular degeneration, so I give to its research arm. Memorial Sloan Kettering gets a contribution.

Shriners Hospitals for children, Samaritan’s Purse that spent an extremely long time here helping hurricane victims and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital are all worthy causes. However, they all send out too many requests for contributions.

Law enforcement and veterans organizations also operate numerous charities. The list of charities never ends.

I tried this year to give bigger contributions to fewer charities, but I always feel guilty if I leave some out that I know are doing valuable work. However, this almost daily deluge of mail and other contact has me near a breaking point.

What’s the solution?