What’s measured This section examines the amount of contributions, gifts, and grants to 501(c)(3) public charities located in the region and filing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 for 2001 through 2003. The data are from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, which has not yet released public charities data for the period after 2003. The data come from the Form 990 submitted to the IRS by those 501(c)(3) public charities in the region with more than $25,000 in annual income. (See the indicator titled “Registered 501(c)(3) Public Charities and Those Filing Form 990” for a further explanation of public charities and their reporting requirements.) Why it’s measured Contributions to public charities represent an important measure of philanthropy in a community. Because financial support of public charities is much broader in terms of the actual number of individual donors than for private foundations, this indicator is also an important measure of a community’s civic engagement through its non-governmental, not-for-profit sector. Indicator results In 2003, public charities located in the region and filing Form 990 received $999,988,707 in contributions, or $459.99 per capita. Those per capita contributions increased in each year between 2001 and 2003, beginning with $398.62 in 2001. Within the region, Mecklenburg County’s Form 990 public charities received the highest level of contributions per capita, at $897.04. Chester ($73.59) and Lincoln ($70.43) counties’ Form 990 public charities received the lowest. The region’s public charities filing Form 990 received less in contributions per capita ($459.99) than North Carolina as a whole ($702.22), but more than South Carolina ($351.69). Evaluation With the exception of Mecklenburg County, average giving per capita to public charities for every county in the region was lower than the North Carolina average, at least for Form 990 filers. With the exception of Mecklenburg and Rowan, all of the counties were also lower than the South Carolina average. This trend was consistent for all three of the years studied. While these numbers may reflect the concentration of many regional nonprofit organizations in Mecklenburg County (for example, United Way of Central Carolinas), there still appears to be a disparity between the resources available to public charities in Mecklenburg County and those available to public charities in surrounding counties. Similarly, comparing the region to averages for North and South Carolina, the region as a whole does not enjoy the same advantage in giving to public charities that it does in giving to foundations (see relevant indicator on foundation giving). Given that support for public charities is generally broader than that for foundations, this indicator may suggest that the region’s philanthropy is currently less grassroots in nature than in other parts of North Carolina, and if one excludes Mecklenburg and Rowan, also less than other parts of South Carolina. It should be emphasized that data for this indicator came only from public charities that filed a Form 990, which excluded organizations with $25,000 or less in income. That may mean there is a significant level of under-reporting for counties outside Mecklenburg, where public charities with smaller budgets may be more common. Connections This indicator also may be related in interesting and informative ways to economic and demographic characteristics of the region. In particular, as residents and locally based corporations become more affluent in the years ahead — as most demographers and economic development officials predict — one would expect to see a corresponding increase in the level of giving to public charities. Contributions to registered public charities also will be an important benchmark to track over time with other quality-of-life indicators, especially those related to social well-being, the arts, the environment, health and education. One would expect that as regional needs grow in these areas, there would be a corresponding demand for public charities to help address those needs, and that financial support for these charities would likewise increase.
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