If the research by a national survey firm is to be believed, Massachusetts is inhabited by tightwads who donated a paltry $309 average donation to charity in 2020.
If you think $309 is actually a lot to donate to charities in a year when COVID-19 killed people as well as jobs and incomes, then consider Utah’s $2,808 average donation for 2020.
Online fundraiser Kindest and survey firm TOP Data surveyed 900,000 Americans’ spending habits and ranked Massachusetts 49th followed only by Rhode Island for charitable donations in 2020. The Bay State’s charitable donation amount dropped 17 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 donation sums.
The good news is that Americans overall contributed more to charities in 2020 and Kindest predicts 52 percent of Americans plan to donate more in 2021.
Kindest publicized TOP Data’s survey results because it wants to encourage donations to its charity clients. But the survey hits upon one of the traits that defines Americans: When times are tough, people in this country help others who are less fortunate.
In Lynn, volunteers turned out to unload trucks packed with food and fill boxes for distribution to hungry neighbors. A Peabody college graduate who could not get a job turned her talents to organizing a project to provide mental health resources.
Those examples are proof that, in Massachusetts, charitable giving wore many hats and measuring giving in dollars donated to organizations is not completely accurate.
Charitable giving rates should also be measured against COVID-19’s impact from one state to another. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and California — states slammed by the pandemic — all rank among the 10 states at the bottom of TOP Data’s charitable giving list.
But the Kindest/TOP Date survey reflects a trend that, hopefully, will continue into this year. People who could not spend money on dining out, travel and vacations due to COVID-19 restrictions channeled some of their money into charities and they are likely to sustain their generosity even as life slowly returns to normal.