Grantmakers in the News
December 1, 2004
The 2004 Generosity Index, published by the Catalogue for Philanthropy, has ranked Mississippi, the nation's poorest
state, as its most generous, a distinction the Magnolia State has held for eight consecutive years.
Following Mississippi in the rankings are Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alabama. At the other end of the spectrum
are Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and, at number fifty, New Hampshire. Although the survey results,
which are based on the difference between residents' average adjusted income and itemized charitable donations as reported
on 2002 federal tax returns, reflect a country still coping with a sluggish economy, the survey did find that, in most
cases, the decline in the average individual's charitable donations was less than the decline in average gross income. The
exceptions were Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, where declines in giving exceeded declines in income.
The Catalogue of Philanthropy, which publishes a directory of nonprofit organizations, created the index seven years ago.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and the National Center for Charitable Statistics, at the Urban Institute,
have published similar reports.
Click here, to view the 2004 index.
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