The Generosity Index, published by the Catalogue for Philanthropy, ranks states in order of their generosity based on IRS data for taxpayers who itemized in a given tax year. This ranking is based upon what people give in relation to what they can afford to give. In this index, the southern states rank high on the list, while New England states rank at the bottom of the list. Mississippi, for example, consistently ranks first as the most generous state.
In response to the index's ranking of Massachusetts as 49th, the Boston Foundation commissioned a study by Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy to debunk the notion that their citizens were not generous. In their report, Massachusetts came out as the tenth most generous state in the nation.
A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy article about this topic states, "The main difference between the two analyses is that the new study adjusts income levels in the states by variations in the cost of living. In Massachusetts, and particularly in Boston, the costs of housing, transportation, and other basic needs are considerably higher than in the South or the Midwest, for example."
In the new study, Utah ranks first, Massachusetts ranks tenth, and Mississippi ranks 24th. The Chronicle article quotes George McCully, the president of the Catalogue for Philanthropy, as saying that the Generosity Index simply reflects the data from federal reports and makes no assertions about people or their generosity.
However, McCully is quoted in the February issue of Imagine magazine in Louisiana (issue not yet available online) making several assertions about people and their generosity. Most notably, he claims that religion is the key to understanding the differences in generosity. McCully says, "It's a fact that people give more to religion, and the South tends to be more religious than any other section of the country…You also have a widespread tradition of tithing among Protestant Southerners, which means many people give a much larger share of their income." Furthermore, he says, "And you in the South should be proud. There are real differences in regional culture, I mean, who ever heard of 'Yankee hospitality?'" Whatever his claims about the neutrality of the index, McCully certainly makes assertions about people and their generosity.
In contrast, we prefer the thoughtful comments of Paul Schervish from the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy: "People in one region don't have different hearts than people in another." His report calls for a de-emphasis of comparative rankings that can be used to chide regions about their giving in favor of an approach that encourages charitable giving by drawing on the inclination of people to care for others. As he says in his newsletter, "By replacing scolding with inspiration (there are) three questions that can be used to change the conversation about philanthropic giving:
- What is important for you to do as an act of caring for others?
- What can you do better through philanthropy than through government or commerce?
- What enables you to identify with the fate of others, express gratitude for your own blessings, and achieve deeper personal happiness, in the form of effectiveness and significance, for yourselves and others, at the same time?
Schervish is working on a second part to the study, which looks at these questions.
Stay tuned.
