RI Ranks Near Bottom for Charity

GoLocalProv News Team

RI Ranks Near Bottom for Charity

Rhode Island has been ranked as one of the least charitable states in the U.S., ranking 42nd in the country, according to a recent study done by WalletHub. 

"The latest World Giving Index shows that Americans are some of the most generous people in the world, ranking second out of 140 countries in 2015. That year, U.S. donors gave more than $373 billion to charity, and 71 percent of that figure came directly from individuals, according to the National Philanthropic Trust," said WalletHub. 

Rhode Island ranks last in volunteering and service, but ranks 18th in charitable giving. 

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See the Ways to Give in the Slideshow Below

The Rankings 

RI ranks 42nd behind Idaho and Massachusetts at 40 and 41, while ranking ahead of Louisiana and Florida at 43 and 44 respectively. 

Utah is ranked as the most charitable state, while Arizona is ranked as the least charitable. 

See the full rankings in the map below. 

Source: WalletHub

The Method 

WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, including “Volunteering & Service” and “Charitable Giving.”

They evaluated these dimensions using 13 key metrics. Each metric was scored on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the “most charitable.”

Lastly, WalletHub calculated the overall score for each state based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the scores to rank the states accordingly.

 

Volunteering & Service – Total Points: 50

  • Volunteer Rate: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
  • Volunteer Retention Rate: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
  • Number of Volunteering Hours per Capita: Double Weight (~14.29 Points)
  • Community-Service Requirement for High School Graduation: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
  • Percentage of Population Collecting/Distributing Food: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
  • Percentage of Population Collecting/Distributing Clothes: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)

 

Charitable Giving – Total Points: 50

  • Percentage of Income* Donated: Double Weight (~12.50 Points)

 

Note: “Income” refers to adjusted gross income.

 

  • Donors of Time: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)

 

Note: “Donors” refers to the percentage of the population who claim to have donated time.

 

  • Donors of Money: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)

Note: “Donors” refers to the percentage of taxpayers who donated money to charity and the percentage of the population who claim to have donated money.

 

  • Number of Public Charities per Capita: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)

 

Note: “Public Charities” is based on the Internal Revenue Service’s definition of the term. Among others, these charities include “churches, hospitals, qualified medical research organizations affiliated with hospitals, schools, colleges and universities.” They do not include private foundations, most of which do not engage in “the direct operation of charitable programs.” However, religious organizations were included in the data for the following reasons: 1) the available data does not differentiate between secular charities and religious organizations, and 2) many donors and volunteers consider their contributions to such entities as “charitable giving.”

  • Charity Regulations: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
  • Number of Feeding America Food Banks per Capita: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
  • Percentage of Sheltered Homeless: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)

50 Ways to Give in Rhode Island - 2016

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