According to the National Philanthropic Trust, last year, the U.S. gave more than $427 billion to charity, with 68 percent of the funds coming directly from individuals. And as Alexia Ridley tells us, Georgia is in the top 15 in giving among the states.
The U.S. has been ranked the most generous country in the world over the past 10 years by the World Giving Index and this year is no exception. The Peach State ranks among the most charitable states according to the personal finance website WalletHub. Analyst Jill Gonzalez says Georgia comes in at number 13 on the list.
“Well into the top 15, it ranked second for charitable giving,” according to Gonzalez. “Georgia actually tied for first place in terms of the highest percentage of donated income. That’s obviously very impressive. There are also a lot of charities per capita in Georgia, so it seems like people really have the opportunity to be giving there. So those are some it its strong points.”
WalletHub compared the 50 states on several key indicators of charitable behavior.
“In terms of which state are most charitable especially during this holiday season, we looked at a variety of different metrics here that fall under both volunteering and service. That includes volunteer rate, volunteer hours, the share of people collecting and distributing food and clothes, and also charitable giving. Not only the share of income donated but also time as well.”
WalletHub has a charity calculator which helps users determine how best to give back.
In addition to money, nearly 63 million people volunteer in the U.S., serving a combined total of 7.9 billion hours per year, the equivalent of $184 billion of service.
For more information visit WalletHub.
