Giving in Washington Area 46% Above U.S. Average

Taxpayers in the Washington area gave nearly 4 percent of their income to charity in 1998, according to a new study by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers.

The rate of giving was 46 percent higher than the national average, a report on the study says.

The number and size of private, corporate, community, and operating foundations located in the Washington region is growing, the report also says.

The study, which covered Washington and its Virginia and Maryland suburbs, found that foundation assets in the region grew from about $12-billion in 1994 to more than $24-billion in 2000. The number of foundations increased from fewer than 700 to more than 1,000, and foundations distributed more than $771-million in 1999.

The study found that giving by area corporations also appears to be on the rise. The top 25 corporate donors increased their contributions by 24 percent from 1998 to 1999, rising to $83.7-million.

Information for the study came from Internal Revenue Service data, the Foundation Center, and the Washington Business Journal, a local business newspaper.

The tax data were analyzed by the Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics. Because data on tax deductions for giving are available only as statewide figures, the center’s analysis of Virginia and Maryland data was based on the assumption that taxpayers in one part of a state give the same percentage of their income to charity as those in the rest of the state.

Free copies of “A Region of Givers,” can be obtained from the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers’ Web site at http://www.wrag.org, or by contacting the association at 1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite 740, Washington 20036; (202) 939-3438.