Bloomfields Rank High in Charitable Giving

Whether it's money to local synagogues or churches, food banks or animal shelters, metro Detroit residents are givers.

Those are among the findings of a six-month project released Monday by The Chronicle of Philanthropy researching "giving habits" of Americans. The research breaks down giving by zip code, town, county and state and is based on a year’s worth of IRS 1040 forms from households nationwide.

Researchers did a deep dive into various avenues of giving, including whether it was for religious or secular organizations and how much of one's household income was devoted to charity. For an apples-to-apples comparison, the data collected was on the percentage of post-tax income that was donated.

In the three zip codes that encompass the Bloomfields, for instance, residents gave a total of between $30 million and $58.7 million in 2008.

Area code 48302 gave the most and ranked 155th - or in the top .5 percent - among the 28,725 zip codes listed.

Those living in the 48304 area ranked 207 or the the top 1 percent.

And the 48301 area came in 706th or among the top 2.4 percent of neighborhoods across the country.

"As a resident, I'm not not surprised ...," said Laura Varon Brown, who also is director of communications and public relations for the charitable organization Make-A-Wish Michigan. "I have always found that it's a pretty caring community across the board and not all of Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township is affluent."

Brown said giving is pretty much part of the culture of the community and is often instilled in schools, which could be one reason children grow up to give financially.

She said her children attended where giving was showcased at the elementary school through something as simple as raising money for charity through jump roping.

When he grows up, 13-year-old Ryan Waldman, an incoming freshman at , says he'll likely donate to the , the West Bloomfield agency that helps his stepsister who has autism.

Meanwhile, he and his brother Jordan, 15, a junior at , a year ago started their own charity, Vision to Art, and continue to seek donations to create art supply gift boxes for sick children staying at the Detroit Medical Center.

Giving as a region

Metro Detroit fell in the top four percent nationally, ranking 14th overall among the 366 metro areas, giving about $1.8 billion in 2008.

And at 22nd, Michigan overall was about in the middle of the pack when it comes to charitable giving, donating about 4.5 percent of income.

Across the country, Utah, Washington D.C.,  and Mississippi gave the most - 10.2 percent to 7.2 percent, respectively. The bottom three states were Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, ranging from 2.8 percent to 2.5 percent, respectively.

Among other findings:

• Because of the current economy, charities are more strapped for cash than ever, which is fueling more charitable giving among neighbors.
• Those who live in more conservative, or "red states",  are more generous than those in more liberal, or "blue states".
• Middle income people give more than the wealthy, especially if the wealthy live among the wealthy.

Paul Piff, a social psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, told NPR that during his years of research he also has found that higher income people in diverse economic areas give more than those who live in wealthy areas.

"The more wealth you have, the more focused on your own self and your own needs you become, and the less attuned to the needs of other people you also become," he told NPR's Pam Fessler.