Chain of aid ... - The Washington Times: Commentary - January 03, 2005

Chain of aid ... - The Washington Times: Commentary - January 03, 2005:

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"Another thing one notices is that foreign aid data are only for 'official' (i.e., government) aid. The data are sketchy, but by all accounts Americans are far more generous in charitable contributions than the citizens of any other country. A 1991 study found the United Kingdom to have the second-largest percentage of private charitable giving. But in 2003, U.K. charitable giving amounted to 8.6 billion pounds or 0.8 percent of GDP, the Charities Aid Foundation says. Compare that to the United States' $241 billion or 2.2 percent of GDP, according to the American Association of Fund-raising Counsel.
But even this estimate of American charitable giving is low because it counts only cash contributions and omits volunteer work. According to Independent Sector, in 2003, volunteers contributed another $266 billion worth of their time to charitable enterprises. This is based on $17.12 per hour. But even if one assigns a value equal to the minimum wage, this noncash contribution still comes to about $100 billion. "