New York ? Americans gave more money to charity in 2004 than the year before, and it looks like that generosity is still growing.

The 400 largest U.S. charities saw donations rise 11.6 percent last year from 2003, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a newspaper that tracks philanthropy and charitable organizations. The United Way of America was the top fundraising group in 2004, the Chronicle said.

The publication’s Philanthropy 400 list, released Monday, ranks the nation’s biggest nonprofit groups by private donations. Money given to the top 400 organizations accounted for more than a quarter of the $248.5 billion raised in the United States last year, the Chronicle said.

Charitable giving has seen a turnaround since 2002, when donations declined for the first time since the list debuted in 1990.

“People are more confident about the economy,” said Stacy Palmer, editor in chief of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Nearly 80 charities on the list are already reporting figures for 2005, most of which take into account the surges in donations after the Asian tsunamis and Hurricane Katrina. Those charities are showing a median rise of 7.3 percent, the Chronicle reported.

The United Way took in $3.9 billion, the Chronicle said. The Salvation Army was No. 2 with $1.5 billion, and Feed the Children, raising $888 million, third.

Red Cross volunteers greet and check-in local residents Sunday at a hurricane shelter in Germain Arena in Bonita Springs, Fla. The American Red Cross was absent from the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of top 10 biggest nonprofit groups by private donations for the first time since the list debuted in1990.

Other top 10 organizations were the American Cancer Society, with $868 million; the AmeriCares Foundation, with $801 million; the YMCA, with $773 million; Gifts in Kind International, with $750 million; Lutheran Services in America, with $723 million; Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, with $683 million; and Catholic Charities USA, with $581 million.

Absent from the top 10 for the first time was the American Red Cross, which fell to No. 11 from No. 8 last year after raising $557.1 million in 2004 – a 5 percent decline.

The Red Cross isn’t sure what contributed to the dip, spokeswoman Kara Bunte said.

But the organization is likely to see an increase in donations this year, after raising $556 million after the Asian tsunamis.

The money the Red Cross has raised for Katrina victims, now at about $1.2 billion, will be included in the group’s 2006 tally, as their fiscal year ends in June.