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Posted on November 21, 2005 Giving by Americans Differs Throughout the Country, Report Finds When it comes to charitable giving, regional differences abound across the United States, a new report from the Giving USA Foundation finds. Researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, and based on Internal Revenue Service data from 2002 and 2003 and a 2002 panel study conducted by the center, Analysis of Regional Variations in Charitable Giving found that when compared with national levels, residents of the seven states of the West North Central region (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and the Dakotas) have a slightly higher participation rate for giving overall, have a much higher participation rate for religious giving, and give higher total amounts. The report also found that New England is the only region in the United States with a higher average amount given to secular causes than to religion; that residents of the Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) exceed the average U.S. participation rates in terms of giving to both religion and secular causes; and that in the East North Central region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin) giving trails national averages, both in amounts contributed and in percentage of income donated. In addition, the Southeastern states (the eastern seaboard from Delaware south, including Washington, D.C.) are slightly more likely than other regions to contribute to charity; the East South Central states (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee) have a slightly lower charitable participation rate but show a higher percentage of income given; and the residents of the West South Central states (Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas) show a lower participation rate overall but have a higher participation rate in giving to religion. The report shows that when it comes to donating to charity, "Americans are not one size fits all," said Hank Goldstein, chairman of Giving USA Foundation. "There are marked differences that must be understood before assigning terms such as 'generous' or 'stingy' to residents of any particular state or region." “Giving USA Puts Spotlight on Regional Variations in Charitable Giving.” Giving USA Foundation Press Release 11/17/05. Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism Location(s): National, United States FC008391

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