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EDITORIAL: Generosity: Poor states give

The Charleston Gazette, W.Va. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Posted on Mon, Nov. 28, 2005 (original)

Nov. 27 - Each year, the Catalogue for Philanthropy compiles a list of states and how much their residents contribute to charitable causes. Each year, the poorest states top the list in the share of their income that residents donate.

Mississippi, ranked 50th in per-capita income, ranks first in the percentage of income that residents give to charity. West Virginia, 48th in income, ranks 10th in giving.

At the other end of the scale, the richest states give the smallest share of income. Eighth-richest New Hampshire ranks 50th in its share of charitable giving. (Since New Hampshire has no state income tax, residents can't claim a state deduction for donations -- although they get federal deductions.) Connecticut, the richest state, ranks 45th in giving.

Some of this disparity is explained by simple math. A $100 donation accounts for a greater proportion of a small income than a large one.

But that's not all of the explanation. It may be that areas where people have less are more inclined to share. Other states at the top of the givers list -- Arkansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Utah and South Carolina -- all struggle with poverty, high rates of health problems, premature pregnancies and underweight babies and a variety of other social ills. Utah, ranked 30th in income, does a little better than the rest.

The Catalogue's data count only charitable contributions recorded on itemized tax returns. It does not record contributions of those whose incomes are not high enough to merit an itemized return. Nor does it reflect thousands of impulsive donations made a few dollars at a time that are never recorded on any tax documents. People give to help with high medical bills, families burned out of their homes, school projects, hurricane relief and needy children.

The Catalogue for Philanthropy assembles the data not to judge various states, but to encourage discussion of charitable giving. Nevertheless, their numbers show that the nation's poorest states make a respectable showing when it comes to looking out for others.