The Most Charitable States/Cities in 2016

Duke Haddad, Ed.D.

If you have followed my blog posts through the years, you will quickly realize that I am a very proud West Virginian. I love my home state and city of Charleston. While my head rests in Indiana, my heart rests in West Virginia. The people do not have a great deal to give, but will gladly give the shirt off their back to those in need. There is a special bond in that state. My wonderful late parents taught me all about philanthropy. They believed the joyous gift was in giving. That act provides a special feeling. When I see someone smile because of an act of kindness, I get tears in my eyes. I was recently curious to learn if poorer states give more than wealthier states.

According to an article titled “Why Do People in the Poorest States Give the Most to Charity?” the state of Mississippi had the lowest per capita income, while ranking second in charitable giving (defined as percentage of income given). Conversely, New Hampshire was 9th in capita income, but ranked 50th in giving. The only state in both the top 10 in charitable giving and per capita income was Maryland.

In the March/April 2008 issue of The American, an article titled “A Nation of Givers,” highlights that the most important explanation is a religious one. The South is home to a large number of evangelical Christians who believe in faithful stewardship.

WalletHub’s article titled “2016’s Most Charitable States” looked at 2015 WalletHub data across 13 key metrics. The data set ranged from volunteer rate to percentage of income donated to percentage of sheltered homeless. Selected top three states from various categories both high and low included:

  • Highest volunteer rate: Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota
  • Lowest volunteer rate: Florida, Mississippi, New York
  • Highest percentage of donated income: Utah, Mississippi, Alabama
  • Lowest percentage of donated income: New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine
  • Highest percentage of population collecting/distributing food: West Virginia, Kentucky, North Dakota
  • Lowest percentage of population collecting/distributing food: Hawaii, Colorado, Massachusetts
  • Most number of charities per capita: Vermont, Montana, Massachusetts
  • Least number of charities per capita: Nevada, Utah, Mississippi.

Overall, the top three states that had the highest total score that included volunteering/service and charitable giving were Utah, Minnesota and North Dakota. My home state of West Virginia ranked 11th and current state of residence Indiana, ranked 29th.

 

When you evaluate cities across the U.S. that are the most charitable, according TIME, Washington D. C. is awarded the top prize. SmartAsset looked at data from all 50 states in four categories. These were charitable contributions per 1,000 people, the value of volunteer time per capita, the number of nonprofits per 10,000 people and median charitable contribution.

In another study, Barna Group, evaluated donations made to charities and nonprofits by percentage of population. The group analyzed data from telephone and online interviews with more than 76,000 adults over a decade. Based upon this research, the top 10 most charitable cities were:

  1. El Paso, Texas/Las Cruces, N.M.
  2. Lexington, Ky.
  3. Charleston-Huntington, West Va.
  4. Memphis, Tenn.
  5. Milwaukee, Wis.
  6. Cincinnati, Ohio
  7. Des Moines-Ames, Iowa
  8. Columbus, Ohio
  9. New Orleans, La.
  10. Norfolk/Portsmouth/Newport News, Va.

When we evaluate countries, states and cities for charitable giving, always remember we are evaluating  individual giving in geographical areas. The article titled “16 Reasons Why People Give to Charities, and Strategies for Activating Giving” noted that motivations for giving are complicated. It also notes that chances for fundraising success increase if you understand the motivations of the person you are asking for a gift.

Here are the article’s 16 reasons why people give:

  1. Anonymous giving
  2. Immortality
  3. Name in print
  4. Access
  5. Eye on the prize
  6. Peer pressure
  7. Charity auctions
  8. Identification with institution
  9. Saved your life
  10. Benefit the community
  11. Provide an opportunity
  12. Payback
  13. Matching gift
  14. Image
  15. Influence
  16. Guilt

We live in a world of statistics, rankings and structures. The point of studying giving results should not only be what is given in time, talent and treasure by states or cities each year. What should also be studied are the changing motivations for giving and how we can encourage more people to give over time with a focus on reducing donor attrition, generating new donors and increasing gifts by current donors.

Duke Haddad, Ed.D.

Duke Haddad, Ed.D., CFRE, is currently the divisional associate executive director of development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division. He specializes in corporate development and capital campaigns. When time allows, he serves as president of Duke Haddad and Associates LLC and as a freelance educator for various educational entities.

He has contributed more than 600 articles to NonProfit PRO since 2008.  

He earned his doctorate degree from West Virginia University, with an emphasis in education administration and a dissertation on donor characteristics. He also holds a master’s degree from Marshall University, with an emphasis on public administration and a thesis on annual fund program analysis. He received his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in marketing and management from West Virginia University.

Duke has received the Fundraising Executive of the Year Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana Chapter. He also has been honored with the Outstanding West Virginian Award, the Kentucky Colonel Award, and theSagamore of the Wabash Award from the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, respectively, for his many career contributions to the field of philanthropy. He has been an AFP member for more than 40 years and has held the Certified Fund Executive (CFRE) designation for more than 30 years. 

This year, Duke was named to Marquis Who’s Who in America for 2026-2027 and as an International CFRE Ambassador. He also recently published the book, "Prescriptions Rx for Nonprofit Success," which features more than 30 previously published articles, including several from NonProfit PRO.

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