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Community: Dollar Donations Indicator DuPage County has the financial means to give more to charitable organizations, so why aren’t we?
ABOUT THE INDICATOR This indicator shows donations in relation to discretionary income for both DuPage County and Illinois. Discretionary income is defined as the amount of an individual’s income available for spending after housing, food, and other essentials have been paid for. Dollars donated to charity are important to the health of a community because they help support the non-profit organizations that provide vital health, educational, and social services to community residents. OBSERVATIONS The average household in DuPage County has about $2,200 more in discretionary income than the average Illinois household, but gives slightly less to charity. Furthermore, out of 102 Illinois counties, DuPage ranks 12th in terms of discretionary income, but 77th in terms of the portion of that income donated to charitable organizations. TAPESTRYNational evidence suggests that there is a strong correlation between higher education levels and dollar donations. In fact, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, those who are better educated give more to charity regardless of income level. However, more than 25 percent of DuPage County residents have college degrees or higher, but donations remain lower than state averages. One explanation for DuPage County’s low level of giving could be the high overall cost of living. A higher cost of living can mean higher taxes, higher clothing costs, higher utility costs, higher fuel and transportation costs, and higher entertainment costs. When households are forced to spend more on taxes and pleasure and leisure activities, less money is available for giving. Another possible explanation may be that many residents choose to donate more of their time than their money to charitable causes. Such volunteer contributions do in fact have a dollar value, but they are not included as a part of dollar donations. Perhaps, too, DuPage residents are not aware of the need for charitable support in their communities. For example, because the general perception is that the county is affluent, people may not know that DuPage has a fair number of residents who are poor or homeless. Furthermore, information from a Giving DuPage survey suggests that many charities are not even concentrating on individual giving. Specifically, while 70 percent of the responding charities in the county employ grant writers, 60 percent do not have a full time development officer. By shifting their focus to individuals and promoting awareness of social problems, charitable organizations might increase the level of individual support for their causes. HOW TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE
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