barker.online By Robert Barker	November 5, 1999

To estimate what charitable donors can afford to give,
Claude Rosenberg Jr.'s Newtithing Group uses an array 
of financial, tax, and philanthropic factors to find
what it calls a comfortably affordable donation level.
Its affordability models are based on IRS-reported
salaries and on conservatively estimated investment
assets, living expenses, taxes, and more.



This table shows how much well-off income-tax filers
-- those with adjusted gross incomes of $200,000
or more -- gave, vs. what they can afford to give.
Because Newtithing takes investment assets into
account as well as income, some surprising
conclusions result. Check Wyoming, for example,
where the estimated total affordable donation is
$313,140 -- more than the average income for
Wyoming's well-off, but possible because Newtithing
counts the $8.8 million held by the average wealthy
Wyoming tax filer in investment assets. States
and the District of Columbia are ranked by the 
generosity of the average tax filer.


Rank/State         Average      Average      Optimal
                   Actual       Affordable   Donation
                   Donations    Donations*   Score**

1 UTAH             $42,061      $61,656      68.20%
2 SOUTH DAKOTA     $30,289      $65,945      45.90%
3 MISSISSIPPI      $19,320      $51,589      37.50%
4 NORTH DAKOTA     $13,038      $35,822      36.40%
5 MONTANA          $20,683      $58,560      35.30%
6 NEBRASKA         $23,578      $67,273      35.00%
7 OKLAHOMA         $21,843      $64,996      33.60%
8 ALABAMA          $20,191      $62,286      32.40%
9 COLORADO         $19,630      $63,461      30.90%
10 N. CAROLINA     $18,041      $58,678      30.70%

11 INDIANA         $18,484      $60,168      30.70%
12 GEORGIA         $19,309      $63,563      30.40%
13 OREGON          $17,528      $58,688      29.90%
14 S. CAROLINA     $17,789      $59,616      29.80%
15 MAINE           $18,610      $63,697      29.20%
16 TENNESSEE       $19,365      $66,815      29.00%
17 MINNESOTA       $18,690      $66,017      28.30%
18 IOWA            $17,864      $63,190      28.30%
19 VIRGINIA        $17,746      $62,804      28.30%
20 WISCONSIN       $18,192      $65,797      27.60%

21 KANSAS          $18,563      $67,869      27.40%
22 RHODE ISLAND    $17,200      $64,891      26.50%
23 NEW MEXICO      $16,131      $61,457      26.20%
24 MARYLAND        $15,866      $60,557      26.20%
25 MASSACHUSETTS   $18,382      $70,943      25.90%
26 OHIO            $18,075      $69,829      25.90%
27 KENTUCKY        $16,084      $63,094      25.50%
28 CALIFORNIA      $17,027      $69,052      24.70%
29 MICHIGAN        $16,468      $68,039      24.20%
30 LOUISIANA       $13,208      $54,680      24.20%

31 TEXAS           $17,751      $74,064      24.00%
32 HAWAII          $15,562      $65,017      23.90%
33 ARIZONA         $16,309      $68,960      23.70%
34 WASHINGTON      $17,919      $76,141      23.50%
35 MISSOURI        $20,683      $58,560      35.30%
36 ILLINOIS        $15,907      $72,364      22.00%
37 PENNSYLVANIA    $16,809      $76,771      21.90%
38 WEST VIRGINIA   $12,326      $59,090      20.90%
39 CONNECTICUT     $17,111      $86,697      19.70%
40 NEW JERSEY      $12,413      $64,680      19.20%

41 IDAHO           $19,703     $102,749      19.20%
42 ALASKA           $8,874      $48,202      18.40%
43 NEW YORK        $25,624     $141,340      18.10%
44 VERMONT         $16,345      $95,612      17.10%
45 WYOMING         $53,473     $313,140      17.10%
46 D.C.            $24,325     $152,265      16.00%
47 NEW HAMPSHIRE   $12,523      $80,498      15.60%
48 ARKANSAS        $23,757     $157,782      15.10%
49 FLORIDA         $21,341     $149,936      14.20%
50 NEVADA          $21,327     $162,996      13.10%
51 DELAWARE        $19,477     $215,198       9.10%



*Average Affordable Donations are estimated by 
comparing salary, investment assets, and projected
total return over a one-year period to debt, living
expenses, income taxes, and the tax consequences of
a charitable gift. The estimate assumes that donations
are made partially in appreciated securities. 



Affordable donation estimates are intended to account
for realistic market performance, allowing ample room
for financial stability and the preservation (if not
growth) of capital after inflation. Affordable donation
estimates assume conservative annual rates of return
for investment assets (9.29% for common stocks, 3% for
other assets).



**Optimal Donation Score measures what average tax
filers have donated in reported charitable contributions
relative to Newtithing Group's estimates of their 
wherewithal. The higher the percentage score, the closer
the state is to Newtithing Group's estimate of optimal
affordable donations. A score of 100% would indicate
that average filers in the given state have already
been achieving their optimal giving potential.



DATA: Newtithing Group, based on 1997 IRS data, the
latest available


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