If you live in Salt Lake City, you give to religious causes, but if you reside in Boston, you give to health, and if you call Detroit home, you give to the community.
Americans are generous, but what charitable causes are top-of-mind depends, in part, on geography, according to Fidelity Charitable, a donor advised fund. Fidelity Charitable looked at 30 metropolitan areas to see what issues the residents in each area directed their donations toward. Religion and education traditionally are the two areas that receive the most donations nationwide.
The most frequently cited reason donors say they give is because the cause or organization is important to them, which speaks to the personal nature of giving, Fidelity Charitable says. But in addition to the personal reasons, the analysis of Fidelity Charitable’s Giving Report shows donor support often has a geographic identity as well, with the needs and interests specific to a metropolitan area frequently driving donor grant recommendations, Fidelity says.
As might be expected, residents in and around Salt Lake City, the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Later-day Saints, were the top givers to religious causes, while San Francisco residents top the list of those giving to the arts and environment.
Washington, D.C., is the top city for support to the international affairs sector, perhaps reflecting the diversity and world focus of its residents, says Fidelity Charitable.
Education gets the most donations from residents in the Bridgeport area of Connecticut and in Boston, Cambridge and Quincy in Massachusetts. Human services draws the most donations from Naples, Fla., and Detroit, Mich.
Boston, which is home to world-class medical facilities tops the list for donations to health.
Residents of the Miami area and the Bridgeport, Conn., area have a special place in their hearts for causes the benefit society, such as civil rights, community improvement and volunteer organizations, according to the report.
“We live in a very large and diverse country and it perhaps is no surprise that we see similar diversity reflected in how people from various cities choose to make an impact with their charitable contributions,” says Amy Danforth, president of Fidelity Charitable.