Fifty-four percent of Americans believe “the United States rates unfavorably in the eyes of the world,” or so a recent Gallup poll revealed. While we are so often told to think that the rest of the world views us negatively, the facts tell a different story: Americans are generous and a sizeable portion of that charitable giving is influenced by the private (often religious) sector.
The Index of Global Philanthropy states that in 2006 (the latest year information was available), the United States government gave $23.5 billion to developing countries. When combined with all funds, both public and private, the United States gave a total of $129.8 billion. Trailing in second place was the United Kingdom which gave $20.7 billion, a $109.1 billion behind the United States.
The Index also reports that the private American sector gave $34.8 billion, exceeding the United States government giving by a whopping 48 percent. Of that $34.8 billion, $8.8 billion came from religious associations. Star Parker, of the Scripps Howard News Service, writes, “To put this in some kind of perspective, the $8.8 billion in giving from American religious institutions to developing countries was $1.5 billion more than the total giving from all private sources in 30 of the world’s major industrialized democratic countries combined.”
The American people have proven to be leaders in generosity, a generosity which is greatly influenced by the private and religious sector.
--Ashley High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online.