Report: Oregonians giving, volunteering more
The Oregon Community Foundation’s recently released 2014 Giving in Oregon report has found that Oregon nonprofits received more than $1.8 billion in donations in 2012, up from $1.6 billion in 2011.
Individual giving also increased in Oregon and nationally from 2011 to 2012. The education sector in Oregon was a big beneficiary of contributions, receiving 35 percent of total contributions to nonprofits in 2012.
According to data collected by the Corporation for National Community Service’s Volunteer and Civic Life in America Project, for yet another year, Oregonians are volunteering more than the national average and are giving more of their time.
In 2012, 36 percent of Oregonians volunteered, compared to only 27 percent of Americans as a whole. More than half of Oregon volunteers gave their time to education or religious organizations.
“The generosity of Oregonians in giving time as well as money really reaffirms the belief that Oregon has a strong culture of giving and a commitment to improving the quality of life in our communities and around the state,” said OCF President and CEO Max Williams. “OCF is proud to have been a partner in this culture of giving for 40 years.”
In 2012, Oregon (17 th ) outranked both California (21 st ) and Washington (28 th ) in contributions as a percent of income, despite a median household income lower than either of those states.
And this generosity cuts across income levels, with Oregonians at all income categories giving more than national averages. In 2012, the wealthiest Oregon households (those making more than $200,000 per year) gave an average of 3.81 percent of their incomes, compared to an average for wealthy Americans of 3.15 percent nationally.
OCF has been publishing the Giving in Oregon report for more than a decade in order to track contributions to Oregon nonprofits. Information on giving in this release comes from 2012 Internal Revenue Service data. Find more data on 2012 contributions as a percent of income and contributions by Oregon county by reading the Giving in Oregon report.
Celebrating its 40 th anniversary in 2014, the mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds, OCF awarded nearly $70 million in grants and scholarships in 2013.
