Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee all rank in the top four states in charitable giving, despite being near the bottom in household income. Ranking first in charitable giving was Utah, one of the wealthier states in the nation. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which tracks charitable giving, issued a report called How America Gives in which these findings were in evidence. The Chronicle’s findings are based on tax returns in which charitable giving was itemized as a deduction.
Nevada is the state where charitable donations showed the biggest upswing. Its biggest city, Las Vegas, made the largest leap among cities, with charitable donations (not counting what you lose at the casino) up double digits since 2006–which was before the financial crisis of 2008 that hit Nevada especially hard.
