http://como.typepad.com/community_mobilization/2005/12/charitable_givi.htmlIf this graph is correct, I'm curious what explains it. I would have guessed the tipping point at the high end to arrive before $10 million. Wow...well, I guess it *could* be happening at a lower level than that, and the $5m folks who give a lot are just being drowned out statistically by the much more numerous $1m folks who don't, but still.
The high figure for the $25-50k group does make some sense: if you're single and in that bracket (and you're more likely to be, since married people tend to make more money), you probably have enough to give some away. And if you want to give what you feel is a difference-making amount, say $1000, that's a bigger chunk of your income than it would be for a richer person. The people making $150k are often in a different life situation - maybe they're busy paying for their kids' college or something and might figure they'll increase their giving later when they get past the current spate of bills and have that much more security for retirement. I suppose there are lots of semi-plausible explanations to be found here...
The overall percentages are surprisingly low; sub-2% across all groups sounds pathetic. However, because the data are from the IRS, I'm guessing only itemized contributions are counted. If that's so, then I'd guess the gap is even wider than the graph says, since the $25-50k folks are less likely to itemize (the standard deduction's very often going to be higher anyway).
EDIT: I've looked at more sources. The figure of ~2% for America as a whole looks about right, and does take into account itemization or lack of it (itemizers are closer to 3%, but non-itemizers are closer to 1%, roughly speaking.) Wow, that kinda sucks...the income groups curve is probably flatter than the original graph has it. Devoutly religious people do give more, as we might expect, though we could say not all tithing through one's church fits ordinary definitions of charity to the same degree - there's a difference between feeding starving kids in Africa and repaving the church parking lot. Even with that, though, it can't be denied that religious organizations give a lot of money, time and effort to helping folks who need it, and it's an example even agnostics and atheists (like me) would do well to take after in our own way.
EDIT 2: Good article about this stuff here:
http://www.aei.org/article/27596 Also, I should add that while the American figure above may look weak, that's not to bash us; in fact, the U.S. scores higher on individual giving as a percentage of income than the other developed countries do.
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