Top 8 Most Charitable U.S. Cities During The Holiday Season

It could be the overall message of giving that spices up the Holiday season, but Americans seem to catch the giving bug more during the holidays than any other time of year.

Causes.com, a company dedicated to social activism, released results from an online survey conducted this month by Harris Interactive showing that out of the overall 85 percent of Americans who donate to good causes, 34 percent of these individuals are more likely to make spirits bright through charitable giving from the month of November to the end of December.

To cater to this trend, Causes created "Holiday Wish" -- a program that grants visitors the opportunity to receive donations for charities instead of gifts. Donations on the web site have increased 42 percent this holiday season.

Based on Causes.com's study results, here are the top eight cities with the highest increases in donations during this season versus the rest of the year. Vote on your top pick.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: 41 percent increase in giving during holidays

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Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Bah, Humbug! 'Tis the season!

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Comments

[suntzu1967]

12:23 PM on 12/26/2010

"highest increases in donations during this season versus the rest of the year."?
That in and of itself doesnt mean a whole lot.
DC, Seattle,San Fran and Portland are all in the top 10 in year round giving. So extra Kudos to them.
The rest?
Brooklyn isnt in top 100
Manhattan 49th
LA 57th
Houston 19th

[JShankel]

06:04 PM on 12/22/2010

Each city as blue as the sky.

[jo smith456]

03:26 PM on 12/21/2010

New York, #1? wall street financiers and Fed Reserve are giving so much money to their hedge fund and/or banking friends and executives

[joanno]

02:08 PM on 12/21/2010

It's pathetic that everything has to get turned into a political issue on this site. And made boring to boot...

[GinghamQuaker]

11:39 PM on 12/21/2010

Agree.

[drbslurp]

01:12 PM on 12/21/2010

Christmas spike because libs think it washes away the guilt....

Sixteen months ago, Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University, published "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism." The surprise is that liberals are markedly less charitable than conservatives.

If many conservatives are liberals who have been mugged by reality, Brooks, a registered independent, is, as a reviewer of his book said, a social scientist who has been mugged by data. They include these findings:

-- Although liberal families' incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).

-- Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

-- Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.

-- Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.

-- In the 10 reddest states, in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated just 1.9 percent.

-- People who reject the idea that "government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality" give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.

[CDWoods]

01:22 PM on 12/21/2010

Interesting numbers, do you have a link? I would like to look into this further. As an aside, I do have to say that you're reasoning is extremely simplistic: "Christmas spike because libs think it washes away the guilt..". I can only imagine that you are joking because your post indicates that you are otherwise a fairly intelligent individual.

[busfault]

01:37 PM on 12/21/2010

That seems like smoke and mirrors to me. Sounds like a solid defense, but somehow I think there is more to the story. Statistics can be used to prove anything, based on how they are presented. What about religious factors (tithing), or what about is it truly charity, or is it done for tax breaks.

[matty228]

12:21 PM on 12/21/2010

What the eff? Brooklyn is not a city. Also, saying Manhattan/New York City makes no sense. New York City = Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx & Staten Island. True, Manhattan is the only part of NYC that has "New York, NY" addresses, but to say that Manhattan and NYC are one in the same is just not true. Really, HuffPo?

[EthicalJournalist]

01:32 PM on 12/21/2010

This is a leftover from historical fact. Brooklyn was an independent city until well after the other four boroughs became NYC; residents of Brooklyn still have a fondness for that historic time, as does, really, all of New York. While each borough is unique, Brooklyn has had a number of firsts and native sons--that type of thing (think Brooklyn Dodgers of old, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Jackie Gleason whose famous TV line, How Sweet It Is, welcomes drivers to Brooklyn)--that make it seem to have a life of its own, separate from the rest of the metropolis.

As for me, I'm just happy that Brooklyn, where I was born, and NYC, in which I spent a great deal of my working life, did so well in charitable giving.

[Robert Kachelriess]

12:17 PM on 12/21/2010

I hate to burst your bubble..but they're only ranking the "spike" during the holiday season. This article should be called "cities that show an increase in charitable giving compared to how little they donate during the rest of the year."

Complete stats would show that "red" states actually give more to charity on a regular basis throughout the year.

During a 20/20 study a few years back... of the top 25 states where people give an above-average percentage of their income, all but one (Maryland) were red.

[lizt]

12:31 PM on 12/21/2010

My favorite recent study was the one that showed the red states have the highest levels of porn usage and teen pregnancies. Gotta love those "family values" folks.

[drbslurp]

01:09 PM on 12/21/2010

Cuz the poor flock to red states because we're much more generous than the blue states.

[anelder]

01:11 PM on 12/21/2010

Add to he red state list, divorces, and the best of all Utah as the porn access winner.
Then of course there's the red states, many of them, not being able to support themselves and needing the blue states to line their pockets. Texas sure isn't helping them.

Seems all that generosity is due to being supported by the northeast.

[Dave A]

12:02 PM on 12/21/2010

Houston, we have a problem here, we're the only southern city in a red state listed here

[SoutheastBeast]

01:26 PM on 12/21/2010

But Houston is a blue city in a red state.

[Brian Udell]

11:39 AM on 12/21/2010

These stats don't say much. I spike in holiday giving may just mean that it's pitifully low during the rest of the year. Minneapolis often ranks as the most cheritable big city in America...so naturally it wouldn't be on this list because a massive holiday spike wouldn't really be feasible.

[pinkindie]

11:33 AM on 12/21/2010

And ta da! The majority are blue.

[RageCage]

12:42 PM on 12/21/2010

Ta da! A slight increase in holiday giving is irrelevant compared with overall charitable giving for the year.

Besides, it shouldn't matter at all. You are free to give or not give regardless of your political affiliation.

[Huero]

05:53 PM on 12/21/2010

Because the blue cities are where the most people in need of charity are.

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

06:28 AM on 12/21/2010

Hey cons, did you notice the city with the highest giving? San Francisco. The liberal mecca of the US. I loved living in SF...a great city full of great people.

[RageCage]

12:43 PM on 12/21/2010

Hey, libs! Did you notice it's only categorizing the increase during the holiday season? Why don't you compare yearly charitable donations and see how that pants out?

[anelder]

01:16 PM on 12/21/2010

And as we note the red state generosity please also note most of them need the blue states supporting them to do so. Seems those horrible blues give more in taxes then they receive so the needy reds can have more than they give. Would you suppose that is the reason those cons are able to be so generous year round?

[AJ39]

01:18 PM on 12/21/2010

Huff Post did do that kind of article a few weeks ago. I don't remember who did the survey that was posted, but volunteerism as well as dollar donations were included to make up the top 10 most charitable cities. As I recall, Seattle came in first. Difinitely a BLUE city.

[Huero]

05:58 PM on 12/21/2010

It's not hard to give to charity in San Francisco .....with a panhandler on every corner. Why would that be...in the liberal mecca of the US?

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

06:06 PM on 12/21/2010

Do cuts in social services by a republican governor enter your head at all? Go to any city and there are homeless people, often disabled, everywhere. Don't thank the liberals for the recession. Thank Bush and your own McCain for the unnecessary and falsely justified war which is bankrupting the country as well as the worship bank deregulation. Yet, the republicans are worried about the ultra rich.

[JShankel]

06:11 PM on 12/22/2010

They come here because this is where all the rich people are.  Why would that be?

[LMPE]

11:18 PM on 12/20/2010

It makes sense that Houston is the Texas city with the holiday charity increase. Believe me, it ain't gonna be Dallas.

[janie@atthelake]

09:20 AM on 12/21/2010

...You are so right.