Matthew LeBlanc, Bluffton News News-Banner

Tammy Slater wasn’t surprised when she learned Wells County is listed as the most generous of Indiana’s 92 counties.

As head of the Wells County Foundation, she has in recent years seen millions of dollars flow through her office and to some of the many endowments, park improvement projects and scholarship funds that remain dear to area residents.

The foundation in 2013 received more than $450,000 in contributions, despite a national economy that was not up to full strength. Already this year, the foundation — a nonprofit organization that manages gift-giving for many different types of funds — has received two contributions each worth $1 million.

“Our contributions have remained fairly steady,” said Slater, WCF CEO. “We have seen that individuals want to be philanthropic.”

A recent report from The Chronicle of Philanthropy appears to shore up that assertion.

The Chronicle, using information culled from an analysis of IRS data, found that Americans donate around 3 percent of their income to charity each year. Wells County residents give even more, the magazine found.

As a percentage of adjusted gross income, Wells County residents gave away more than 6 percent of what they made in 2012, according to the analysis.

The rate of giving ranks Wells County No. 1 among the other Indiana counties. Indiana residents gave away 3.26 percent of their income, the Chronicle reported.
The median contribution by Wells County residents was $4,556, a number which exceeds the amount given by those in Indiana ($3,520).

Numbers for Wells County are based on a median adjusted gross income of $77,569.

The reason Wells County residents give more is, somewhat, open to interpretation. Leaders of area nonprofits say there is a longstanding tradition of generosity in the county’s communities.

Researchers involved in the Chronicle study found that the percentage of income residents donated to charity dropped in large cities such as Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

In smaller cities and in rural areas like Wells County, percentages of giving stayed relatively steady.

Also, researchers found, areas with large numbers of churchgoers tended to show greater amounts of donations.

Utah, with a large population of Mormons, topped the list of states in terms of charitable giving. There, residents gave away nearly 6.6 percent of their incomes annually.

Indiana ranked 17th on the list.

Slater said a significant portion of the donations she sees come from a wide cross-section of the community.

However, Chronicle researchers found that poor and middle-class Americans are donating more, while the nation’s wealthy are giving less.

From 2006 to 2012, those who earned $200,000 or more annually donated 4.6 percent less of their income; while those who made $100,000 or less donated 4.5 percent more.

Pamela Beckford, executive director of United Way of Wells County, said the highest number of donations typically go to churches or higher education. While she agrees with Slater that Wells County residents are generous, Beckford said there always exists a need for more help in many different areas.

“I’ve always said this is a very giving community,” she said. “(But) giving will never meet what the needs are.