Religious organizations received the highest percentage (29%) of all 2021 charitable donations in Florida, according to a report published by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University in early April.
Meeting basic needs (14%) was the next largest percentage of all donations, followed by education (13%), health (11%), combined purposes (10%), environmental / animal (6%), youth (6%), arts / culture (5%), other (4%) and international (2%).
Looking at the average amount given to charity, religion topped the list at $1,370, more than double the next highest average donation of $613 for education-related causes.
Among donors with household annual income of $200,000 and/or net assets of $1 million or more, education received the highest average donation at $5,678, with religious donations a close second at $5,642.
More than two-thirds (69%) of all Floridians donate to charitable causes, with 39% of all donors giving to organizations meeting basic needs. By comparison, 33% of all donors give to religion, 24% to environment / animal, 21% to combined purposes, 21% to health, 19% to youth, 17% to education, 13% to arts / culture, 10% to international causes, and 19% to other causes not listed above.
Of the more than 19,000 non-profits in the “Sunshine State” in 2019, around one-fifth were religious and focused on “promoting spiritual development.” The report does not include “charities run by religious organizations, such as schools, hospitals, or food pantries in a church basement” in the category of religious organizations.
“Overall, charitable giving in Florida closely resembles giving in the rest of the U.S., with giving to religion and basic needs as the two most common causes that households reported giving to,” the report said. “Basic needs and religion are also the top two most common causes for high-net-worth Floridians to give to, matching what we see at the national level.”
According to Generosity for Life data, 29% of all U.S. households donate to religious causes, with the average annual donation amount being $2,665 and the median amount being $1,000.
The full Lilly Family School of Philanthropy report is available here.
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