Study Shows How Much Sandy Springs Residents Give to Charity

Many Sandy Springs residents are givers. A new website map called “The Chronicle of Philanthropy shows how much folks across the county have given to charity according to 2008 Internal Revenue Service records.

Overall, Sandy Springs residents gave $134 million in contributions or 5.6 percent of their income. Folks earning $50,000 to $99,000 per years gave 10.8 percent of their income, according to the study. The median contribution was $4,429. Median discretionary income reported on the itemized tax returns was $79,053. 

Looking at zip codes, residents living in 30350 gave 35.6 million in charitable contributions in 2008. Residents in 30342 and 30328 gave $47.3 million and $51.1 million, respectively.

Metro Atlanta ranked fifth and Georgia ninth nationally in giving to charities in 2008. Residents in the Atlanta area gave a median $3,286 per household, or 5.9 percent of their discretionary income. Statewide, Georgia residents gave a median $3,396 or 6.2 percent of their income.

The study found:

• States that voted Republican in the last presidential election are far more likely to be generous to charities than those that voted Democratic. The top eight states in giving, including Georgia, preferred John McCain over Barack Obama.
• Utah was the No. 1 state in giving at 10.6 percent, with Salt Lake City as the most giving city. By contrast, residents in Massachusetts and three other New England states give less than 3 percent. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey and Rhode Island are the least-generous states.
• Lower-income people give a far bigger share of their income to charities than the wealthy.
• Rich people who live in areas with mostly wealthy people give a smaller share of their incomes to charity than rich people in economically diverse areas.
• Regions that are deeply religious give more than those that are not. Two of the top 10 states—Utah and Idaho—have high numbers of Mormons, who tithe more consistently than other churches. The other states in the top 10 are all in the so-called Bible Belt.