THE CHARITABLE GIVING DIVIDE

Who gives more to those in need; the rich or the poor?

[EXCERPT FROM ORIGINAL ARTICLE]
For decades, surveys have shown that upper-income Americans don’t give away as much of their money as they might and are particularly undistinguished as givers when compared with the poor, who are strikingly generous. A number of other studies have shown that lower-income Americans give proportionally more of their incomes to charity than do upper-income Americans. In 2001, Independent Sector, a nonprofit organization focused on charitable giving, found that households earning less than $25,000 a year gave away an average of 4.2 percent of their incomes; those with earnings of more than $75,000 gave away 2.7 percent.

This situation is perplexing if you think of it in terms of dollars and cents: the poor, you would assume, don’t have resources to spare, and the personal sacrifice of giving is disproportionately large. The rich do have money to spend. Those who itemize receive a hefty tax break to make charitable donations, a deduction that grows more valuable the higher they are on the income scale. And the well-off are presumed to have at least a certain sense of noblesse oblige. Americans pride themselves on their philanthropic tradition, and on the role of private charity, which is much more developed here than it is in Europe, where the expectation is that the government will care for the poor.

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Two of America’s Worst Charities Call OC Home

STORY FROM OCREGISTER.COM

Two of the 10 charities on a national “hall of shame” list are in Orange County - The Association for Police and Sheriffs in Fullerton, and The Association for Firefighters and Paramedics in Santa Ana.

Both claim to help those in need - victims of violent domestic abuse, and survivors of traumatic burn injuries - but actually spend the overwhelming majority of their money to raise money, and not to do good works.

This earned them the No. 4 and 5 spots on nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator’s “Ten inefficient fundraisers” list. Orange County really stands out here; no other state in the nation - not even New York! - managed to contribute two charities to this list. (Way to go, OC.)

The Association for Police and Sheriffs in Fullerton spent 88 percent of its money - $1.2 million - raising money. It only spent 4 percent - a measly $60,000 - to “end domestic violence and help women and children whose lives are devastated by abuse.”
The Association for Firefighters and Paramedics in Santa Ana spent 92 percent of its money - $3.6 million - raising money. It only spent 2 percent - a measly $80,500 - ”to help the survivors of catastrophic fires.”

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