http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/making-difference-where-you-live_50737.mp3
MAKING A DIFFERENCE WHERE YOU LIVE, TUESDAY 11 DECEMBER 2012
VOICE OF PRODUCER MIKE SMITH:
At Thanksgiving, Gray Thursday and Giving Tuesday were added to the left and right of Black Friday and Cyber Monday on this year’s calendar as the Season of Giving comes in like a lion.
Organizers of Giving Tuesday encouraged Americans to “Find a way for family, community, company and organization to join in acts of giving.” Charitable groups on the receiving end of the first ever Giving Tuesday report a 53% increase in donations over the same day last year. Meanwhile, a recently released report on charitable giving nationwide in 2011, one which breaks down the data and demographics by zip code, shows the Springfield Metro area, along with several southern Missouri counties, rank far above average state and national levels of charitable giving.
Michael Chatman is Senior Vice President of Philanthropy for the Community Foundation of the Ozarks: “It’s always been or feeling that Missourians and specifically Springfieldians are generous people . We just didn’t know until the study came out where we ranked compared to our contemporaries across the country.” Chatman says the analysis of charitable giving, commissioned by Giving U.S.A., in conjunction with The Chronicle of Philanthropy, shows Americans donated nearly $300 billion to charities in 2011. Missouri Ranks right around the middle of the country in terms of percent of annual income donated. “We rank 24 of all states. So we Missourians give an average of 4.4 percent of our income to charitable causes.”
The nationwide average of annual income donated to religious and charitable organizations is 4.7 percent. In Springfield, that number jumps to 6 percent. Michael Chatman says the zip code by zip code data is surprising to some, but reinforces something that’s been known the Community Foundation of the Ozarks for a long time: You Don’t have to be wealthy to give. “What the study basically said was 73 percent of all giving comes from individuals, so it’s folks like you and I Mike, that give more regularly to charitable causes and organizations. But again, it speaks to the generosity of people in central and southern Missouri. Not like the big wealth we might see in places like Chicago, but you have a lot of people giving little amounts that add up”.
Within the Springfield city limits, the folks that take the most from their own bottom line to give to others, 8.3 percent, live in the 65803 zip code, a north central section of the city. Across all of southern Missouri, Douglas County leads the way with 7.9 percent of annual income donated.
Nancy Hawk owns a business on the square in Ava Missouri, and is President of the Douglas County Community Foundation, one of over 40 affiliates of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. “They’re just wonderful people in this area. To the best of my knowledge, Douglas County is not an affluent county, but I believe the people in this community see so many others in need and are so willing to help with money and volunteering. It’s in the hearts of the people that are here.”
As to where the money goes, in 2011 religious organizations top the list with nearly $96 billion received, or 32 percent of total contributions. Mark Struckoff is Executive Director of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks: “It’s real clear from the study that religion has a huge influence on giving patterns in America. A recent book by Arthur Brooks called Who Really Cares talks about people in America who give for religious purposes, and he contends that those people who give to their houses of worship also give to causes outside their church, synagogue or mosque. And according to the Giving U.S.A. Study, by and large, middle class Americans tend to give a greater percentage of their income than wealthy Americans. My interpretation of that is that people who see on a regular basis, others who are different from them, tend to be a little more generous toward people in need. And in part, it’s a mandate if you will, to see the face of God in the poor. Maybe mandate is not the right word but it certainly does bring a sense of greater awareness of vision to people of faith about giving to causes which are changing lives for the better.”
Following religious organizations at the top of America’s charitable recipients list: Education; Gifts to Foundations; Human Services; and Public Benefit. The top 3 generous states at to percent of annual income donated to charities and church are: Utah; Mississippi; and Alabama. Missouri is in the middle with a total of $2.3 Billion donated in 2011. New Hampshire is at the bottom of the list. In southern Missouri, Taney, Dade and Dallas County, respectively, follow Douglas County with the highest rates of giving in the Community Foundation of the Ozarks area of operations.
For information on the Giving U.S.A study, philanthropy.com For information on charitable giving opportunities across southern Missouri, cfozarks.org
For Making A Difference Where you Live on KSMU and ksmu.org, I’m Mike Smith