Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051120-115511-4563r.htmPORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- New Englanders remain among the most tightfisted in the country when it comes to charitable giving, while Bible Belt residents are among the most generous, an annual index shows.
For the fourth consecutive year, New Hampshire was the most miserly state, according to the Catalogue of Philanthropy's Generosity Index. Mississippi remained at the top for generosity.
The index, which takes into account both "having" and "giving," is based on average adjusted gross incomes and the value of itemized charitable donations reported to the Internal Revenue Service on 2003 tax returns, the latest available.
However, its methodology has been criticized and has prompted new studies of charitable giving.
"We believe that generosity is a function of how much one gives to the ability one has to give," said Martin Cohn, a spokesman for the Catalogue for Philanthropy, a Boston-based nonprofit that publishes a directory of nonprofit organizations.
But a study by the Boston Foundation concluded that the index presents an undeserved image of New England as a region made up of Yankee skinflints.
"If everyone in Massachusetts gave 100 times as much to charity as we do today and everything else remains the same, we wouldn't get above the bottom half of the chart," said David Trueblood, a spokesman for the foundation. "And no matter what Mississippi did, it couldn't fall below 22nd or 23rd."
The foundation proposed an alternate measure of generosity based on each state's share of overall charitable contributions and income, adjusted for differences in taxes and living costs. Using that methodology, Massachusetts' generosity ranking last year would be 11th, instead of 49th.
Another new study, conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University on behalf of a group of New England sponsors, also boosts the case for residents of the six-state region.
That study, which supplements IRS data with a survey of representative households, found that people in New England give less, on average, to charity than people in other regions, but that the percentage of New Englanders who do contribute is higher than the national average. It also found that contributors in New England tend to favor secular, rather than religious, causes.
Mr. Cohn said he was disappointed that the Boston Foundation chose to attack the index without understanding that its purpose is to promote discussion about philanthropy and that it never sought to hang a label on any state.
Mr. Trueblood said he wanted to move the discussion away from rankings and toward ways to get people to be more generous.
That's it...no money for you!Hobbit said:HA! Take that, you dang New Englanders with your noses up in the air, looking down at us southerners.
Abbey Normal said:When it comes to gift-giving, my New England relatives are the stingiest.
To look at it in a kindly fashion, I supoose one could attribute it to old-fashioned Yankee thrift.
Bonnie said:You know there was a study done when Clinton first got elected regarding who were better tippers Republicans, or Democrats, and according to the findings it was Republicans who were more generous. That ties in nicely with this study afterall most New Englanders it can be argued are Democrat while Southerners are more Republican........Hmm
archangel said:you are from New England...Republican..and gives more than you receive...interesting...please explain!
Bonnie said:Actually I'm not from New England but I suppose mixed in New England states and Mid Atlantic states are people like me who associate more with Republican thinking and are also hopefully charitable?? I think the study was more generalized
Bonnie said:You know there was a study done when Clinton first got elected regarding who were better tippers Republicans, or Democrats, and according to the findings it was Republicans who were more generous. That ties in nicely with this study afterall most New Englanders it can be argued are Democrat while Southerners are more Republican........Hmm
State
Wealth rank. (wealthiest 1 - poorest 50)
Giving rank. (most 1 - least 50)
Comparison between wealth and giving ranks
Final Genorosity rank.
Mississippi 50 6 44 1
Arkansas 46 5 41 2
South Dakota 44 9 35 3
Oklahoma 42 8 34 4
Tennessee 35 3 32 5
Alabama 38 7 31 6
Louisiana 43 12 31 7
Utah 30 2 28 8
South Carolina 39 13 26 9
West Virginia 48 22 26 10
Idaho 41 20 21 11
Texas 22 4 18 12
Nebraska 34 17 17 13
North Dakota 45 29 16 14
Wyoming 17 1 16 15
North Carolina 28 16 12 16
Kansas 27 15 12 17
Florida 23 14 9 18
Georgia 18 11 7 19
Missouri 31 24 7 20
Kentucky 40 33 7 21
New Mexico 47 40 7 22
Montana 49 45 4 23
Indiana 29 31 -2 24
Alaska 25 28 -3 25
New York 5 10 -5 26
Iowa 36 42 -6 27
Nevada 13 21 -8 28
Ohio 32 44 -12 29
Maine 37 49 -12 30
California 6 19 -13 31
Maryland 4 18 -14 32
Washington 11 25 -14 33
Vermont 33 47 -14 34
Oregon 26 41 -15 35
Pennsylvania 19 34 -15 36
Virginia 7 23 -16 37
Arizona 21 37 -16 38
Delaware 14 30 -16 39
Illinois 9 26 -17 40
Michigan 16 35 -19 41
Hawaii 24 43 -19 42
Colorado 10 32 -22 43
Minnesota 12 36 -24 44
Connecticut 1 27 -26 45
Wisconsin 20 46 -26 46
Rhode Island 15 50 -35 47
New Jersey 2 38 -36 48
Massachusetts 3 39 -36 49
New Hampshire 8 48 -40 50
