Minnesota
Giving by Individuals
How Much do Minnesotans Give to Charity?
Minnesotans gave an estimated $3.9 billion individually to charity in 2004, an increase of 12 percent (9 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars) from 2003, according to IRS data. The state had the sixth-highest percentage of tax filers itemizing deductions (41.7 percent) in 2004, a factor that tends to include more individuals with lower charitable giving levels in the average contribution figure.
To What Causes Do Individuals Give?
Although figures aren't available for Minnesota, a survey of U.S.
households conducted in 1999 by Independent Sector
showed that individuals devoted the majority of their charitable gifts —
60% — to religious organizations, followed by human services (9%), health (6.5%), education (6.4%) youth development
(4.9%), the arts (3.3%) and the environment (3.2%).
How Does Individual
Giving in Minnesota Compare to Other States?
Minnesotans gave an average of 2.5 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity in 2004, marginally higher than the national average of 2.4 percent. The state performs much better in the number of tax returns with contributions, ranking fifth overall with 37.2 percent, higher than the 30.4 percent, nationally.
(Note: Estimating and comparing the
charitable giving levels and patterns of individuals in different states is
an imperfect science. The only data that offer insights into this question
are the charitable donation claims made on federal tax returns by
individuals who itemize their returns. But charitable claims do not
represent all charitable gifts because not all individuals itemize their
taxes, particularly individuals with lower incomes, and estimates vary
widely as to the portion of individual charitable giving that is not
reported on tax forms. Furthermore, the percentage of tax filers who itemize
their tax returns varies widely from state to state.)
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Giving
in Minnesota Report, 2006 Edition
December 2006
MCF's definitive
report on charitable giving in Minnesota with the latest figures on
grantmaking by individuals, foundations and corporate grantmakers |
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