Texas Governor’s Charitable Giving Put Under Microscope

Republican presidential candidates are talking a lot about the economy and taxes on the campaign trail. But how do they stack up when it comes to charity?

The Huffington Post is attempting to answer that question, publishing a series of articles to assess the charitable-giving history of Republican presidential candidates. First up: Rick Perry, governor of Texas (who is expected to announce his candidacy shortly).

Mr. Perry in most years gave a small percentage of his income to charity and donated mostly to groups connected to his family, the publication found after reviewing the governor’s tax records from the mid-1990s through 2009. Many of the donations were in the form of clothing or other noncash gifts, it said.

For example, in 1996, Mr. Perry and his wife, Anita, reported $182,318 in adjusted gross income but just $626 in gifts, the publication noted.

In 2007, they reported an adjusted gross income of more than $1-million but gave only $413 in cash contributions to charity. Anita Perry donated a silk beaded dress that she valued at $2,500 that year, however, to a charity on whose advisory board she sits.

The Perrys have occasionally made big gifts, however—for example, $9,996 in 2008 to the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, a nonprofit where Anita Perry worked, the Huffington Post noted.