AAFRC Foundation Press Releases

GLENVIEW, Ill. (Nov. 17, 2005) – Examining both new and existing data, Giving USA Foundation researchers have discovered that when it comes to giving, regional differences abound across the United States.

Therefore, when it comes to donating to charity, “Americans are not one size fits all,” said Henry “Hank” Goldstein, chairman of Giving USA Foundation. In fact, he added, “there are marked differences that must be understood before assigning terms such as ‘generous’ or ‘stingy’ to residents of any particular state or region.”

In the first-ever use of data that examined differences in participation rate and the average total amount contributed per household and the average amounts contributed for religious giving and for secular giving researchers discovered that “in some regions, religious giving predominates, in others, secular giving is higher,” said Gene Tempel, Ed.D., executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, the organization that researched and wrote the report for the Foundation.

“This analysis includes useful measures of generosity for all regions -- beyond the simple calculations usually undertaken using tax data – such as rates of participation in giving and percentages of income contributed by households, whether or not the household itemizes contributions on federal tax returns,” he added.

IRS data from 2002 and 2003 (the most recent available), along with results from a 2002 panel study conducted by the Center, were studied to come up with the conclusions reached in the report, titled “Analysis of Regional Variations in Charitable Giving,” published in late November 2005 by the Foundation.

 

Giving USA Foundation has been releasing reports on the state of charitable giving in America for 50 years, and is frequently asked for state- and regional-level data. This new report is an attempt to respond to that interest and provide information of use to those who study philanthropy in the United States.

Among the key findings for each of nine regions of the country, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau:

Region 1: Northeast (Conn., Mass., Maine, N.H., R.I., Vt.)
Giving in these New England states, compared with national averages, is:

• More widespread, shown by high participation rates, especially for secular causes.
• Lower when measured as a percentage of income donated (1.3 percent compared with 2.0 percent nationally, when comparing all households)
• Among donor households, lower, on average, in the amount given to religion
• Among donor households, much higher, on average, in the amount given to secular causes.
  
  New England is the only region in the United States with a higher average amount given to secular causes than to religion.
  
  Region 2: Mid-Atlantic (N.J., N.Y., Penn.)
  The three states in the Census Bureau’s Mid-Atlantic region:

• Exceed the U.S. average in participation rates (any giving, giving to religion and giving to secular causes)
• Trail the United States in amounts contributed (total giving, giving to religion and giving to secular causes) and in percentage of income donated
  
  Region 3: East North Central: (Ill., Ind., Mich., Ohio, Wis.)
  In these Great Lakes States, giving trails compared to national averages, both in average amounts contributed and in percentage of income donated.
  
  Region 4: West North Central : Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., Neb., N.D., S.D)
  Compared with national levels, residents of these seven Plains states:

• Have a slightly higher participation rate for giving overall
• Have a much higher participation rate for religious giving
• Give higher total amounts
• Among donor households, give more to religion
• Slightly trail the rest of the U.S. in secular giving, measured both by participation rate and by average amount donated
  
  
  
  Region 5: Southeast : Del., Wash., D.C., Fla., Ga., Md., S.C., N.C., Va., W. Va.
  
  Compared with national averages, donors living in these states (and the District of Columbia) along the Southeastern Atlantic Coast:
   
• Are slightly more likely than other U.S. residents to contribute to charity
• Give slightly more than the U.S. overall
• Among donor households, give more as a percentage of income.
  
  Region 6: East South Central : Ala., Ky., Miss., Tenn.
  
  Compared to national levels, households in the Central South and Central Gulf Coast states show:
   
• A slightly lower rate of participation overall in giving
• A higher percentage of income given
• A higher participation rate for giving to religion
• A higher average amount donated to religion
• Lower secular giving, both in participation rates and in average amount given for secular causes
  
  Region 7: West South Central: Okla., Tex., La., Ark.
  
  Compared with national averages, residents in this region based around the central oil-producing states showed:
   
• Lower rate of participation overall
• Higher participation in giving to religion
• Much lower rate of participation in giving to secular causes
• Among donor households, higher average amount given to religion
• Among donor households, slightly lower average giving to secular causes
  
  
  Region 8: Mountain: Ariz., Col., Id., Mon., N.M., Nev., Utah, Wy.
  
  Compared to national averages, residents of this region in the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest show:
   
• Higher percentage of households are donors
• Higher average gift amounts for religion and for average gift total
• Lower average gift amounts for secular causes
• Lower giving as a percentage of income for donor households
  
  
  
  Region 9: Pacific: Alaska, Cal., Hawaii, Ore., Wash.
  
  Compared to national trends, residents of Pacific states show:
   
• Lower participation rates throughout (total, religion and secular)
• Among donors, higher average gift amounts overall, to religion, and to secular causes.
  
  The report takes an in-depth look at each of the regions.
  
  When studying regional differences, it is helpful to take into consideration the following, said Goldstein:
   
• Total household giving by all households in the United States has hovered at the 2.0 percent of disposable income level for decades. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 the level was 2.2 percent.
• The average charitable giving amount claimed per tax return with gifts in 2003 was $3,731, a 7.5 percent increase over 2002. Tax returns with gifts are only about 30 percent of all individual tax returns filed.
• In tax returns filed for 2003, 38.6 million returns out of more than 130 million returns filed included itemized deductions for charitable gifts.
• Itemized deductions for charity totaled $143.94 billion in 2003
• For information about household giving by the 70 percent of households that do not itemize deductions on federal tax returns, researchers at the Center on Philanthropy used data from the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study, which reached more than 6,000 families in a nationally representative sample.
• Using the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study data, 67 percent of households made charitable contributions of $25 or more in 2002. Those household gave an average total to charity of $1,894 each.
• Most donors do not itemize their giving on tax returns. Among households that donate but do not report contributions on tax returns, an estimated 27 percent reported charitable gifts totaling $1,000 or more when surveyed in the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study.
• In most Census regions, giving to religion was higher, on average, than giving to secular charities.
  
  The report, the first-ever that uses household-level data to explore differences in giving by region, will be available for $35 from Giving USA Foundation, www.givingusa.org, or by calling 847-375-4709, on Dec. 1, 2005.

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Giving USA, the pre-eminent report on charitable giving in the United States, is published annually by Giving USA Foundation, Glenview, Ill.

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University is a leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice through research, teaching, public service and public affairs programs in philanthropy, fundraising, and management of nonprofit organizations. The Center conducts basic and applied research about contemporary and historical issues in philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, the nonprofit sector, giving, fundraising, voluntary action, and public policy issues linked to philanthropic activity.