County Lags on Charity Contributing

In Orange County, a land of affluence where the median family income is $44,000, the average household donates a mere $182, or 0.4% of its annual income, to charitable causes, according to the 1988 Orange County Annual Survey released Monday.

This is even less than the $262, or 0.6% of annual income, reported in 1987, which paled by comparison with the national average found in two recent surveys. A study entitled “Giving U.S.A.,” a 1987 annual report on philanthropy by the American Assn. of Fundraising Counsel, cited a national average for giving of 1.9% of annual income; a 1985 national survey by Yankelovich Skelly & White, a research and marketing firm, found a 2.4% average.

“There is no question that Orange County is not giving at the level you would expect,” said Mark Baldassare, UC Irvine professor of social ecology and director of the survey.

Are county residents selfish? Indifferent? Callous?

“It’s not that people are any less charitable in Orange County,” said Merritt Johnson, president of the county chapter of United Way.

Johnson said the low figures may be explained by the relatively small size of local companies rather than the stinginess of local residents.

Charitable giving is more effectively organized by large corporations, he said.

But Baldassare said there may be other explanations: “There is some thought that it may have to do with the fact that we tend to be less religious oriented than other communities. A lot of charity is tied to . . . religious causes.

“It has to be a multifaceted issue. My guess is . . . that many of the people probably perceive that there aren’t a lot of local issues and problems in Orange County that are deserving of giving.”

George Kessinger, executive director of Goodwill Industries of Orange County, was not surprised at the finding.

“I’ve grown accustomed to the thought that we in Orange County have a giving history that is significantly less than . . . United Ways in other counties,” he said. “We’re about half of the (U.S.) average of capital giving.

“While dollar giving is soft at this time, we have been able to maintain our flow of used goods here in our program, and our sales are up . . . over last year, which means there are more dollars to serve people.

“People are responding by donating used goods,” he said, “and they are responding by buying goods in our stores.”