Metro area lags state in donations

Douglas, Adams counties weak in charitable giving

By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Denver area ranks as the least generous region in the state in terms of the percentage of income donated to charity, according to the first in-depth look at statewide giving trends.

The overall showing of the metro area reflects weak charitable donations in fast-growing suburban areas such as Douglas and Adams counties, while the city of Denver proved much more charitable by comparison.

"Many people in areas with population booms are possibly new to the state and their roots are not yet sunk deep into their communities," said Charley Shimanski, president of the Colorado Nonprofit Association, the group that conducted the study.

Shimanski presented the results with Gov. Bill Ritter and nonprofit leaders at a news conference Wednesday at Samaritan House in Denver.

Despite the metro area's overall ranking, the study showed the region still gave $1.8 billion to charity, or 64 percent of all giving by those who itemize on their taxes in Colorado.

Denver County exceeded state and national averages, with donors giving an average of $4,873, or 4 percent of income, to the needy.

But the study confirmed what state nonprofit leaders have already learned from national studies: Colorado lags national averages when it comes to how much of their income residents contribute to needy causes.

Still, the results showed Colorado residents gave a record $3.8 billion to charity, an increase of 13 percent from the year before.

Because the state ranks fifth in the nation in average adjusted gross income, its giving performance is in 36th place when it comes to the percentage of income donated to charity. That's down from 34th place a year earlier.

The findings draw on 2005 data from the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Census.

The state's nonprofit sector, through a program called the Colorado Generosity Project, called for the study as a way of helping charities figure out which areas of the state they need to reach out to more actively.

Denver Foundation President David Miller said the study's findings call for "metro Denver residents to increase our giving. While nearly all of us give some support to charity, we cannot ignore significant unmet needs."

Among the notable findings: Some of the smallest towns proved the most generous with their income. Manassa in Conejos County, with a population of about 1,000, led the state. Its donors gave 9.7 percent of their income, or three times what the average Coloradan gave to charity.

Residents of resort towns - Vail, Aspen, Snowmass Village and Avon - also came in near the top of the list, with Vail donors averaging $15,674 in gifts.

But Coloradans in the lowest income category donated a much higher portion of their income than all the others. Those with adjusted gross income of less than $50,000 gave 5.2 percent of it to charity.

The study divided the state into six regions. The southeast, central and northwest regions led the rest of the state, while Denver metro, the northeast and southeast lagged the national average considerably.

City of Boulder residents gave more of their income than residents of Boulder County overall. Lakewood also stood out as a generous city, while Highlands Ranch and Thornton were among the metro-area cities ranking in the bottom third.

Of the state's 64 counties, Adams County ranked 58th, Douglas County 56th, Broomfield County 54th and Jefferson County 50th in terms of giving as a percentage of income.