Public support for philanthropy

What does this indicator measure?

This indicator measures the level of charitable activities by individuals. Published by the Catalogue for Philanthropy Web site, the Generosity Index (GI) provides a way to monitor progress against the gap between income and charitable giving. Using published data of individual tax returns from the IRS, the GI compares the rank of each state’s average adjusted gross income to the rank of each state’s average itemized charitable deductions. In addition, financial information on nonprofit groups in Texas and the United States based on individual tax returns from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, a clearinghouse of data on the nonprofit sector in the United States, are examined for this indicator.

Why is this indicator important?
Individual philanthropy can be an indication of the community's dedication to the well-being of others as well as to civic engagement. Donor contributions are another source of support for nonprofits and other charitable organizations. A community’s level of giving helps to measure its altruism and friendliness. Most studies of public support have been at the state level; therefore, it is difficult to extract information at the county and city levels.

How are we doing?
According to a January 16, 2006, article titled “Individual Giving Compared To Charitable Gross Receipts” and published by the Tax Policy Center, a joint effort between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, “Individual giving to public charities—most of which comes in the form of charitable deductions from tax return filers who itemize on their returns—actually comprises only a small part of charities’ gross receipts each year.” However, we can examine data to see to what extent individuals do give and to see if any trends appear.

The national average adjusted gross income in 2003 was $47,401; in comparison, the average individual charitable contribution was $3,724, according to 2005 data from the Generosity Index.

In 2003, for all individuals in all income brackets nationwide, the average percentage of adjusted gross income given as charitable contributions was approximately 8%, according to Generosity Index data from 2005.
In 2003, for all persons in the income bracket of income more than $200,000, the average percentage of adjusted gross income given as charitable contributions was approximately 4%.

The Texas average adjusted gross income in 2003 was $44,699; in comparison, the average individual charitable contribution was $4,953.

In 2003, for all persons in Texas in all income brackets, approximately 11% of adjusted gross income goes to charitable, according to Generosity Index data from 2005.
In 2003, for persons in Texas in the income bracket of income more than $200,000, approximately 4% of adjusted gross income goes to charitable contributions.
Texas was ranked third in giving of all states in 2000, but dropped to the fourth ranking in 2003, based on 2005 data from the Generosity Index.
In the Dallas area, the total gifts received equated to $304,235,755, and total contributions bestowed equalled $369,896,662 for 2003.

Between the years 1990 and 2002, the financial support for nonprofit groups per capita has increased 67% in Texas; the nonprofit group financial support per capita nationwide was 82%.

Surveys of charitable giving offer different views of Texans’ level of financial contributions. The 2005 Catalogue for Philanthropy’s Generosity Index ranked Texas 12th among all other states.

Texas was the fourth most “giving” state (based on average itemized charitable contributions) and was the 22nd most “having” state (based on average adjusted gross income). Texas outpaced the U.S. average for giving at every income level, according to the data.
The United Way State of Caring Index tracks financial giving to 501(c)(3) nonprofits by state. Since 1990, Texas has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile group. In 2002, contributions in Texas averaged $423 per capita.
The National Center for Charitable Statistics also tracks charitable contributions by state. In 2003, Texas residents recorded an average of $4,166 in charitable contributions on their itemized tax returns, which is below the national average of $3,283.