Highlights of Nonprofit Fundraising Results by State According to How America Gives Report

I recently wrote about The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s newest nonprofit fundraising report How America Gives which reflected results that considered political affiliation, religion and the impact of government incentives. The report is extensive and provides a detailed breakdown based on 2008 IRS tax returns of those with an income of $50,000+ and within various regions across the United States (including county, town zip code and state). An area that I would like to highlight today is how some key States measured up in different levels of nonprofit fundraising according to the report.

• UTAH – As I highlighted in my last post, Utah topped the list in overall giving, as the statistics show that Utah residents donate 10.6% of their discretionary income (income less taxes and living expenses). One of the main factors that catapult the state into first place is its heavy Mormon influence and the practice of tithing (giving the church 10% of your earnings). Salt Lake City, one of Utah’s metropolitan areas, also ranks first and the state came first in volunteerism as almost half (45%) of Utah’s residents donate their time too.
• CALIFORNIA & NEW YORK – Despite their overall ranking of 17th and 25th respectively in percentage of donations reported from discretionary income, the two States ranked 1st and 2nd for total state donation dollars. Approximately 12.5% of all American donations originated from California and more than $11.2 billion in donations were reported as being from New York. This is not surprising as the large populations of each state can account for their top placements. Outstandingly, a whopping $478 million in donations for the year were attributed to a single zip code in Manhattan’s Upper East Side (10021).
• HAWAII – Although placing 24th in the overall rankings of giving, Hawaii’s affluent population with a discretionary income of between $50,000 and $100,000 had the highest giving percentage (6.1%) of others in the same income bracket nationwide. Interestingly this trend does not carry through to those with even higher discretionary income as those having more than $200,000 only donated on average 3.4%, well below the state’s overall average of 4.5%. Further analysis on the statistics by the report reveals that wealth does not necessarily translate into larger donations.
• VERMONT/NEW ENGLAND STATES– One of the smaller States and ranking 48th in overall giving with 2.8%, Vermont tops the list at 2 registered nonprofits for every 1,000 residents, significantly higher than the national average of 1.2. However, New England States placed in the last 6 spots amongst all States: Connecticut was in 45th place (with a 3.3% average); Rhode Island (3.1% average), Massachusetts (2.8%); Vermont, Maine (2.8%); and last New Hampshire ( 2.5%). It’s not clear why New England States fell short in comparison to their nationwide counterparts but statistics indicate it could be a lack of engagement. New Hampshire is trying to stimulate State wide giving through the New Hampshire Giving Foundation with targeted publicity campaigns aimed at encouraging donors to give.

Reports like How America Gives help smaller local-minded charities better understand what motivates their donors to give and allows them to tailor strategies that are best suited for them. Similarly, larger national organizations can strategize by developing plans that target donors by region, state or metropolitan areas. Even though this report is based on the USA, the results can be valuable to nonprofit fundraising in any market.

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