Who's Giving to Charity?

By Rod Anderson, CP Cartoonist Monday, September 09, 2013

The states whose residents give the most to charity are more likely to have high levels of religiosity, less wealth, and were more likely to support Republican candidates in recent presidential elections. The states whose residents gave the least, on the other hand, were more likely to be secular, rich and Democratic, according to a new study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Nine of the top 10 most generous states voted for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012. Only Maryland, at number 10, voted for the Democrat, President Barack Obama. North Carolina came in at number nine and voted for Obama in 2008 and Romney in 2012.

The rest of the top eight have not voted for a Democrat for president this century. They are, starting with the most generous: Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Idaho, Arkansas and Georgia.

Of the 10 least generous states, only one, North Dakota, the eighth worst, favored Romney. The others all voted for Obama. They are, starting with the least generous: New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Wisconsin, North Dakota, New Jersey and Nevada.