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1999 Private Charitable Generosity Index: Section Four: US-Canada Private Charitable Generosity Index
This section expands the Canadian portion of the Generosity Index to include the 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Unfortunately, as discussed in the first section, reliable data on per capita volunteering on a state-by-state basis is not currently available. The US-Canada Private Charitable Generosity Index is, therefore, a compilation of two components: proportion of tax-filers that donate to registered charities and the percentage of private income donated to registered charities.
The US-Canada Generosity Index is less comprehensive than the Canadian version since it only includes monetary contributions to charities. We hope that a reliable source of state-by-state volunteering data will emerge within the next few years to enable the US-Canada Private Charitable Generosity Index to become more comprehensive.
Donors to Tax Filers
The performance of the Canadian provinces relative to the US states is mixed. Only Manitoba (ranked 8th) manages to reach the top quintile of performance in the proportion of donors to tax-filers. Four Canadian provinces, Prince Edward Island (14th), Saskatchewan (16th), Ontario (17th), and Alberta (24th) are included in the second quintile. The lowest ranked province is Newfoundland at 40th. None of the Canadian provinces were ranked in the lowest quintile.
The average score for Canadian provinces in this component was actually higher than the average for US states: 7.0 versus 6.3, respectively. The Canadian provinces, therefore, perform relatively well in comparison to the US states in terms of the extent of individual generosity, as measured by the ratio of donors to tax filers.
| State/Province | Rank | Donors as a Percent of Tax Filers | Index Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 1 | 39.2% | 10.0 |
| New Jersey | 2 | 36.5% | 9.3 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 35.5% | 9.1 |
| New York | 4 | 34.1% | 8.7 |
| Minnesota | 5 | 33.8% | 8.6 |
| Massachusetts | 6 | 32.9% | 8.4 |
| Utah | 7 | 32.2% | 8.2 |
| Manitoba | 8 | 31.6% | 8.0 |
| Delaware | 9 | 31.5% | 8.0 |
| Rhode Island | 10 | 30.9% | 7.9 |
| California | 11 | 30.7% | 7.8 |
| Colorado | 12 | 30.5% | 7.8 |
| District of Columbia | 12 | 30.5% | 7.8 |
| Prince Edward Island | 14 | 30.3% | 7.7 |
| Virginia | 15 | 30.1% | 7.7 |
| Saskatchewan | 16 | 29.9% | 7.6 |
| Ontario | 17 | 29.8% | 7.6 |
| Oregon | 18 | 29.7% | 7.6 |
| Wisconsin | 19 | 29.2% | 7.4 |
| Hawaii | 20 | 29.1% | 7.4 |
| Michigan | 21 | 28.2% | 7.2 |
| Arizona | 22 | 27.9% | 7.1 |
| New Hampshire | 23 | 27.8% | 7.1 |
| Alberta | 24 | 27.6% | 7.0 |
| Georgia | 24 | 27.6% | 7.0 |
| Illinois | 26 | 26.9% | 6.9 |
| Nova Scotia | 27 | 26.8% | 6.8 |
| Quebec | 28 | 26.3% | 6.7 |
| Washington | 29 | 26.2% | 6.7 |
| New Brunswick | 30 | 25.8% | 6.6 |
| North Carolina | 31 | 25.6% | 6.5 |
| Pennsylvania | 32 | 25.4% | 6.5 |
| Idaho | 33 | 25.2% | 6.4 |
| Nevada | 33 | 25.2% | 6.4 |
| British Columbia | 35 | 24.5% | 6.3 |
| Ohio | 36 | 24.4% | 6.2 |
| Vermont | 36 | 24.4% | 6.2 |
| South Carolina | 38 | 23.8% | 6.1 |
| Maine | 38 | 23.8% | 6.1 |
| Newfoundland | 40 | 23.6% | 6.0 |
| Kansas | 41 | 23.5% | 6.0 |
| Iowa | 42 | 23.0% | 5.9 |
| Kentucky | 43 | 22.8% | 5.8 |
| Montana | 44 | 22.7% | 5.8 |
| Oklahoma | 45 | 22.5% | 5.7 |
| Nebraska | 46 | 22.3% | 5.7 |
| Alabama | 47 | 22.1% | 5.6 |
| Missouri | 47 | 22.1% | 5.6 |
| Indiana | 49 | 21.4% | 5.4 |
| Florida | 50 | 20.8% | 5.3 |
| New Mexico | 51 | 18.6% | 4.7 |
| Arkansas | 52 | 17.2% | 4.4 |
| Alaska | 52 | 17.2% | 4.4 |
| Tennessee | 54 | 15.8% | 4.0 |
| Texas | 55 | 15.7% | 4.0 |
| Mississippi | 56 | 15.5% | 4.0 |
| Louisiana | 57 | 14.6% | 3.7 |
| North Dakota | 58 | 14.3% | 3.6 |
| Wyoming | 59 | 13.8% | 3.5 |
| West Virginia | 60 | 11.9% | 3.0 |
| South Dakota | 61 | 11.7% | 3.0 |
|
Sources: Revenue Canada, Tax Statistics on Individuals, 1997; Urban Institute
analysis of data from the Statistics of Income Bulletin, Internal Revenue
Service. Note: Data excludes the basic standard deduction for non-itemized tax returns in the United States. Data focuses, exclusively, on itemized returns that include charitable donations. |
|||
Charitable Donations as a Percent of Private Income
Unlike the results for the first component, the Canadian provinces rank poorly in the percentage of private income donated to charities. The highest-ranking Canadian province, Manitoba, ranks 48th, and is the only province not ranked in the bottom quintile.
The top three jurisdictions, Utah, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, respectively, actually donate double the percentage of private income to charity relative to Canada’s highest ranking province, Manitoba. Equally unimpressive for the Canadian provinces is that four of the bottom five jurisdictions are Canadian, with Quebec ranking last.
| State/ Province | Rank | Donations as a Percent of Private Income | Index Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 1 | 4.81% | 10.0 |
| District of Columbia | 2 | 2.62% | 5.4 |
| Maryland | 3 | 2.56% | 5.3 |
| Wyoming | 4 | 2.50% | 5.2 |
| Idaho | 5 | 2.32% | 4.8 |
| South Carolina | 6 | 2.29% | 4.8 |
| Georgia | 6 | 2.29% | 4.7 |
| New York | 8 | 2.25% | 4.7 |
| Alabama | 9 | 2.24% | 4.6 |
| North Carolina | 10 | 2.21% | 4.6 |
| Minnesota | 11 | 2.12% | 4.4 |
| Oklahoma | 12 | 2.07% | 4.3 |
| Delaware | 13 | 2.05% | 4.3 |
| Nevada | 14 | 1.99% | 4.1 |
| Oregon | 15 | 1.96% | 4.1 |
| California | 16 | 1.94% | 4.0 |
| Virginia | 17 | 1.93% | 4.0 |
| Arkansas | 18 | 1.92% | 4.0 |
| Colorado | 19 | 1.91% | 4.0 |
| Florida | 20 | 1.88% | 3.9 |
| Kansas | 21 | 1.87% | 3.9 |
| Tennessee | 21 | 1.87% | 3.9 |
| Michigan | 21 | 1.87% | 3.9 |
| Arizona | 24 | 1.86% | 3.9 |
| New Jersey |
25 | 1.83% | 3.8 |
| Connecticut | 26 | 1.82% | 3.8 |
| Mississippi | 27 | 1.80% | 3.7 |
| Washington | 27 | 1.80% | 3.7 |
| Wisconsin | 27 | 1.80% | 3.7 |
| Nebraska | 30 | 1.78% | 3.7 |
| Illinois | 31 | 1.77% | 3.7 |
| Kentucky | 32 | 1.69% | 3.5 |
| Indiana | 33 | 1.68% | 3.5 |
| Missouri | 34 | 1.64% | 3.4 |
| Pennsylvania | 35 | 1.62% | 3.4 |
| Massachusetts | 36 | 1.61% | 3.4 |
| Ohio | 37 | 1.60% | 3.3 |
| Iowa | 37 | 1.60% | 3.3 |
| Texas | 39 | 1.57% | 3.3 |
| Montana | 40 | 1.54% | 3.2 |
| Alaska | 41 | 1.46% | 3.0 |
| Hawaii | 41 | 1.46% | 3.0 |
| New Mexico | 43 | 1.45% | 3.0 |
| Rhode Island |
43 | 1.45% | 3.0 |
| Louisiana | 45 | 1.40% | 2.9 |
| Maine | 46 | 1.36% | 2.8 |
| Vermont | 47 | 1.34% | 2.8 |
| Manitoba | 48 | 1.28% | 2.7 |
| New Hampshire | 49 | 1.27% | 2.6 |
| North Dakota |
50 | 1.23% | 2.5 |
| Prince Edward Island |
51 | 1.20% | 2.5 |
| Saskatchewan | 52 | 1.17% | 2.4 |
| British Columbia |
53 | 1.13% | 2.4 |
| New Brunswick | 53 | 1.13% | 2.3 |
| South Dakota |
53 | 1.13% | 2.3 |
| Ontario | 56 | 1.10% | 2.3 |
| Nova Scotia |
57 | 1.04% | 2.2 |
| Newfoundland | 58 | 1.01% | 2.1 |
| Alberta | 59 | 0.99% | 2.1 |
| West Virginia |
60 | 0.96% | 2.0 |
| Quebec | 61 | 0.59% | 1.2 |
| Sources: Revenue Canada, Tax Statistics on Individuals, 1997; Urban Institute analysis of data from the Statistics of Income Bulletin, Internal Revenue Service; Tax Foundation. | |||
US-Canada Private Charitable Generosity Index
The performance of the Canadian provinces relative to the US states is relatively poor. Manitoba, Canada’s highest-ranking province, fails to break the top quintile and is relegated to 20th position, tied with Rhode Island and South Carolina.
Three Canadian provinces rank in each of the third, fourth and fifth quintiles. Prince Edward Island (27th), Saskatchewan (29th) and Ontario (31st) all rank in the third quintile. Alberta, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, which all tie for 40th position, all rank in the fourth quintile. Finally, British Columbia (49th), Newfoundland (51st), and Quebec (52nd) all rank in the bottom or last quintile.
| State/Province | Rank | Overall Index Score |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 1 | 9.1 |
| Maryland | 2 | 7.7 |
| New York | 3 | 6.7 |
| District of Columbia | 4 | 6.6 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 6.6 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 6.5 |
| Connecticut | 7 | 6.4 |
| Delaware | 8 | 6.1 |
| California | 9 | 5.9 |
| Colorado | 9 | 5.9 |
| Georgia | 9 | 5.9 |
| Massachusetts | 9 | 5.9 |
| Oregon | 13 | 5.8 |
| Virginia | 13 | 5.8 |
| Idaho | 15 | 5.6 |
| North Carolina | 15 | 5.6 |
| Wisconsin | 15 | 5.6 |
| Arizona | 18 | 5.5 |
| Michigan | 18 | 5.5 |
| Manitoba | 20 | 5.4 |
| Rhode Island | 20 | 5.4 |
| South Carolina | 20 | 5.4 |
| Illinois | 23 | 5.3 |
| Nevada | 23 | 5.3 |
| Hawaii | 25 | 5.2 |
| Washington | 25 | 5.2 |
| Prince Edward Island |
27 | 5.1 |
| Alabama | 27 | 5.1 |
| Saskatchewan | 29 | 5.0 |
| Oklahoma | 29 | 5.0 |
| Ontario | 31 | 4.9 |
| Kansas | 31 | 4.9 |
| New Hampshire | 31 | 4.9 |
| Pennsylvania | 31 | 4.9 |
| Ohio | 35 | 4.8 |
| Kentucky | 36 | 4.7 |
| Nebraska | 36 | 4.7 |
| Florida | 38 | 4.6 |
| Iowa | 38 | 4.6 |
| Alberta | 40 | 4.5 |
| New Brunswick | 40 | 4.5 |
| Nova Scotia | 40 | 4.5 |
| Indiana | 40 | 4.5 |
| Missouri | 40 | 4.5 |
| Montana | 40 | 4.5 |
| Vermont | 40 | 4.5 |
| Maine | 47 | 4.4 |
| Wyoming | 47 | 4.4 |
| British Columbia | 49 | 4.3 |
| Arkansas | 50 | 4.2 |
| Newfoundland | 51 | 4.1 |
| Quebec | 52 | 4 |
| Tennessee | 52 | 4 |
| Mississippi | 54 | 3.9 |
| New Mexico | 54 | 3.9 |
| Alaska | 56 | 3.7 |
| Texas | 57 | 3.6 |
| Louisiana | 58 | 3.3 |
| North Dakota | 59 | 3.1 |
| South Dakota | 60 | 2.7 |
| West Virginia | 61 | 2.5 |
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| Last Modified: Thursday, August 5, 1999. |