Working to Give: Philanthropies & Philanthropic Work

If you were asked how charitable your city is, would it be at the top or bottom of the list? It’s always interesting to see where various American cities fall on the list of charitable giving. Certainly, one would expect that cities that struggle with their own economic hardships would be less charitable than those with more financial stability. In a study in 2020 by Charity Navigator, they looked at the largest charities in the top 30 metropolitan locations. They evaluated spending in: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Washington, DC.

These markets generate 64% of the revenue and 66% of the spending for charities in America. They found, among other results, that the highest rated cities for charitable giving were: Pittsburgh, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco and Kansas City; the lowest rated locations were Baltimore, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Nashville.

There were many other interesting finds in their analysis as well, and the entire report is worth reading.

There are so many ways to give back.  During corona times the act of giving is even more important.  So many people have suffered in so many different ways that truly any type of giving would be appreciated. Even if one thinks they have nothing to offer, they would be surprised at just how many opportunities exist.

Take Mozes Victor Konig for example.  An Israeli based photographer, Konig’s work has definitely slowed down during the pandemic.  But rather than rest on his laurels or get depressed about the situation, Konig has been using the opportunity to give back to his community as well as those in other parts of the world.

“In the first lockdown I saw that people were scared, hunkering down and there was an increase in depression and anxiety,” Konig recalls.  “I initially started taking pictures of the ‘world without people’ as it looked to me but that was not helping my own personal mental health.  So I asked around and found that people would love to have socially-distanced photos.  I saw an opportunity and went for it,” Mozes Victor Konig says, explaining how his volunteer work was able to put a smile on people’s faces.

Konig went out and took photos of all sorts of people.  And houses. And dogs.  And then he sent them to their email addresses and refused payment.  “Take it as a gift.  Take it without money.  Just pass it on.  Pay It Forward.  Do a good deed for someone else during this time,” Konig said.