Lower-Income Newtown Residents Give at Higher Percentage
A recent review of tax records revealed that those who make less in Newtown gave a higher percentage of their income to charity.
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” ― John Bunyan
Out of nearly 29,000 zip codes in the United States, Newtown is in the top 600 most charitable communities in the nation, according to study called “The Chronicle of Philanthopy,” which was released Monday.
The report is based on IRS tax data from 2008. The records showed that the 18940 zip code donated $32.2 million to IRS-registered charitable organizations.
The data showed that Newtown taxpayers on average gave about 3.4 percent of the their median income of $78,903 to charity.
By comparison, the median contribution in Pennsylvania was 3.9 percent and 4.7 percent for the entire United States. Utah residents gave the highest percentage - contributing more than 10 percent of their income to charity.
In Newtown, the data reveals that lower-income residents tended to donate a much bigger share of their median income to charity than their wealthier neighbors did in 2008.
Residents who made less than $100,000 gave 5.4 percent of the their income, data reports. However, those who made more than $100,000 only gave 2.85 percent of the yearly income to charity.
As a whole, the Philadelphia region gave more than $3 billion dollars to charities in 2008, the report shows.
The study also found that monetary donations to charity organizations by large companies in 2011 remained stagnant and is not expected to increase much this year.
Charitable Giving by Area Zip Code
18977: Washington Crossing
Total Contributions $5.2 million
Median Contribution $3,366
Median Income $115,953
Percent Given 2.9%
18925: Furlong
Total Contributions $4 million
Median Contribution $2,380
Median Income $91,713
Percent Given 2.6%
19047: Langhorne
Total Contributions $18-million
Median Contribution $2,184
Median Income $62,306
Percent Given 3.5%
Let Patch save you time. Get local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.
Maria
7:01 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Studies continuously prove that religious and conservatives give more to charity than liberal non-religious people.
Jordan
8:20 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Of course people who belong to a religion donate to that religion. What would be interesting to see in my opinion would be numbers comparing those who give to actual philanthropy, like purely to charities. Not religions (certainly include the percentage of donations to religions that a church uses to do actual charitable work, but not the percent that goes to heating the church in the winter, for example). Also not universities (except with the same caveat as above). Pure charities who benefit other people. I think those numbers would be more interesting.
Dawn
10:08 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
http://moneyland.time.com/2012/08/21/how-religious-affiliation-affects-charitable-giving/
When you take religion out, the numbers drastically change, and areas that tend to be more Democratic, like New England,followed by New York, give more. Pennsylvania moves from number 40 to number 5 in its ranking as well.
Joann Jordan
6:41 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
So, what are you insinuating? Democrats aren't religious? And if you give to a religion, that is somehow different than giving to another charity?? Also, 18940 is a Newtown AREA zip code--I live in Upper Makefield but have the Newtown zip. Not quite the same as saying "Newtown" as a blanket region... Consider that churches do more than just "give to ourselves"-- my church has a food pantry, which services anyone in Bucks County who needs food assistance, regardless of your religious background. We also have free dinners for those in need each month, and have a weekly soup kitchen. Stop thinking of religious people as "nut-job" right wingers. Charity does start at home, and local churches and the people who support them also do much within their communities, opening their doors to scouting troops, CA & AA group meetings , teen meetings. Let's not discount religion as a charity.