RENO, Nevada — The term philanthropist may bring to mind images of lavishly wealthy business executives cutting billion dollar checks to foundations. Recent studies, however, tell a different story, and paint lower income, religious people as the most generous philanthropists in the U.S., when considering income percentage.
A 2012 study conducted by the Chronicle of Philanthropy found that within the U.S., Utah residents donated the largest fraction of discretionary income to charity. Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina filled the remaining top five spots. The study, which broke down charitable giving statistics by zip code, was based on 2008 tax return data comparing income levels to IRS -reported charitable donations, with cost-of-living differences between states taken into account.
According to the study, lower-to-middle-income taxpayers also donated more than their richer counterparts as a percentage of income. While those in the top “one percent”—families making $380,000 or more per year in 2012—are responsible for about a third of all charitable dollars given in the U.S., taxpayers who earn more than $100,000 a year give an average of 4.2 percent of discretionary income to charity, while those who earned $50,000 to $75,000 give an average of 7.6 percent.
Another factor for the wealthy appears to be zip code. Among high-income taxpayers, those that live in normal communities with residents of mixed income levels tend to donate more, while those in higher-income enclaves give less.
Statistics compiled by both the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics have revealed some other notable findings. Among other things, the two organizations have found that self-employed people tend to give less, while older people, married couples, volunteers at religious organizations and long-term residents of small towns give more.
The 2012 Chronicle for Philanthropy study also found that the eight states that gave most to charity voted for John McCain in 2008, while the seven lowest ranking states voted for Barack Obama, although this statistic likely has more to do with voting demographic patterns than it does with politics itself.
In the past few presidential elections, conservative “red” states have tended to be lower-income, rural and religious, while liberal “blue” states are more often higher-income, urbanized and more secular.
This makes sense when compared with Chronicle for Philanthropy data.
In particular, religion appears to be one of the top correlating factors with charitable giving. Three of the top five most religious states, Mississippi, Utah and Alabama, also ranked in the top five states for charitable donations.
This statistic also held true across urban cities in religious states. Salt Lake City, Birmingham, Memphis, Nashville and Atlanta, all of which are located in the top ten most religious states, donated an average of 6.9 percent of discretionary income to charity, while Boston and Providence averaged 2.8 percent.
– Katrina Beedy
Sources: Philanthropy Rountable, Philanthropy 1, Philanthropy 2, Gallup
Photo: WVCO