A 22 percent increase in U.S. corporate giving between 1998 and 1999 can be attributed to the booming U.S. economy, a trend that will benefit both K-12 and higher learning groups and causes, Education Week reports.

The figures, compiled by the Foundation Center, show the nation's 2,022 corporations increased their donations by a higher percentage that did community and independent foundations. Donations by corporate foundations soared to nearly $3 billion last year, compared to $2.45 billion in 1998.

K-12 and higher education remain the most popular causes, the Foundation Center reports. An estimated 24 percent of funds donated by the nation's top 1,009 foundations went to educational institutions.

Precollegiate educational causes recorded an estimated $707 million in donations during 1998, significantly more than the $569 million received the previous year, the Foundation Center reports.

Higher education received the lion's share of the money, however, with grants and gifts totaling more than $1 billion that year. This is a 10 percent increase from the $740 million given in 1997, the center reports.

Other popular causes include access to education for minority students, K-16 collaboration and wiring schools with new technology, according to the report.

U.S. foundations gave a record amount to nonprofits last year as the economy boosted endowments and created new philanthropic organizations, according to the Foundation Center. The estimated $22.8 billion in grantmaking represents a 17.2 percent increase over 1998's $19.5 billion.

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