OCF Releases Giving in Oregon Report: Oregon Continues to Rank in Top 20 States in Charitable Giving

Despite lower than national average incomes and a higher than average unemployment rate, Oregonians give more than the national average.

The Oregon Community Foundation recently released the 2012 Giving in Oregon report. The report includes information on trends in giving in every county in Oregon. With the assistance of the Giving in Oregon Council, OCF has been publishing this report for more than a decade in order to track philanthropy and its effects on the nonprofit sector.

Although Oregonians continue to be generous, contributions to nonprofits have not yet rebounded to pre-recession levels. Therefore, nonprofit agencies have had to renew their focus on their core missions in the face of lean economic times and an increased need for their services.

Giving in Oregon offers an objective analysis of donations to 10,369 Oregon nonprofit organizations in 2010 (the most recent data available), representing 68% of the state’s registered 501(c)3s.

Report highlights include the following:

• Individual giving by Oregonians shows signs of recovery from the recession.
  • Oregonians, across income levels, are giving more generously than national averages.
  • Oregon continues to rank in the top 20 states for charitable giving.
  • Nonprofits in Oregon reported almost $1.5 billion in charitable contributions in 2010.
  • Nearly 90% of charitable contributions were reported by nonprofits in just eight counties (Benton, Clackamas, Deschutes, Jackson, Lane, Marion, Multnomah, and Washington Counties).
  • Nearly one-third of contributions reported by Oregon nonprofits were reported by education organizations.

The last decade of generous giving and volunteering has helped to improve neighborhoods, expand educational opportunities, build stronger health care services, and strengthen communities. Together, these activities made a measurable difference for thousands of Oregonians.

To read the full report, please visit www.oregoncf.org/gio2012.

For a printed version of the report, please email info@oregoncf.org.

The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awarded more than $86 million in grants and scholarships in 2011.