A recent report by The Oregon Community Foundation found that individual giving by Oregonians is consistently on par, or higher, than national averages. In 2009, Oregonians contributed an average of 2.1 percent of their income, while nationally individuals contributed an average of 2.0 percent of their income.
The report also found that while individual giving has declined during the recession both nationally and in Oregon, the decline in Oregon has been more moderate than that seen across the country. The drop in average contributions nationally between 2007 and 2008 was double the corresponding drop in Oregon, and the declines between 2008 and 2009 also were larger nationally than in Oregon.
Oregonian’s giving in the face of the recession is particularly noteworthy: while in 2009 the national unemployment rate was 9.3 percent, the corresponding rate in Oregon was 11.1 percent.
“Oregon is a state with a history of great generosity. People here are willing to invest, even in the hardest of times, in community causes that they care about. They understand that these investments in the common good help build a stronger state,” said OCF President Greg Chaillé.
And this generosity cuts across income levels with Oregonians at all income levels giving more than national averages. In 2009, the wealthiest Oregonians (those making more than $200,000 per year) gave an average of 3.4 percent of their incomes, compared to an average for wealthy Americans of 2.95 percent nationally.
Despite Oregon’s higher than national average unemployment rate and lower than national average incomes, Oregon consistently ranks in the top fifth of states in terms of individual giving, and in 2009 ranked 19, ahead of California (ranked 31) and Washington (ranked 36). Oregon outranks these neighbor states despite the fact that incomes in both states are substantially higher than Oregonians’ incomes.
*Information in this release comes from the Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Data, which tracks individual taxpayer incomes and contributions.
Find more data on 2009 contributions as a percent of income and 2009 state charitable giving rankings oregoncf.org.
