New report on state-by-state charitable giving across US

New report on state-by-state charitable giving across US: "New report on state-by-state charitable giving across US
Boston College researchers find states previously labeled 'stingy' have higher generosity levels than previously reported; Researchers call for new, more rigorous way to calculate giving
CHESTNUT HILL, MA (11-14-05) – States previously reported to lag behind the nation in charitable giving actually have higher generosity levels than those indicated by a widely-touted annual index, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy.

The study, sponsored by the Boston Foundation, recalculates giving levels which since 1997 had been annually evaluated by the Generosity Index, a widely used list that ranks all 50 states according to how much local residents give to charity, published by the Catalogue for Philanthropy.

For example, the 2004 Generosity Index, based on 2002 data, ranked Massachusetts as the second stingiest state in the nation, and the 2002 Index, based on 2000 data, ranked it the seventh stingiest state. But that charge is revealed as a 'myth' in the new report, which for the first time subjects the Index to rigorous scrutiny. When cost of living and tax burden in the area are taken into account, Massachusetts moves from 49th to 11th in terms of charitable giving based on 2002 data and from 44th to 6th based on 2000 data."