Giving Tuesday Charitable Donations: How Georgia ranks

GEORGIA — As Americans dig into their bank accounts for #GivingTuesday — a national observance founded on social media to encourage more philanthropy — some states can be counted on to lead the charge. Georgia ranks 15th, according to an analysis of Google search terms.

At least that’s what an analysis by Digital Third Coast suggests.

Here’s what we know for sure: Last year, Americans raised an estimated $275 million for nonprofit groups on #GivingTuesday, which is observed the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and often launches the end-of-the-year giving season. Today (Nov. 27) is #GivingTuesday 2018.

The analysis for our state looked at four popular search terms — “best charities to donate to,” “places to donate near me,” “volunteer opportunities near me” and “what percentage of income should be donated to charity.” The site then calculated search volume for those terms per capita in Georgia.

The analysis doesn’t show how much people in our state actually gave.

Massachusetts ranked first in the analysis, followed by Delaware, Michigan, New Hampshire and Virginia in the top five. Many other states in the top 10 were also on the East Coast.

Southern states dominated the lower tier. Louisiana ranked 50th, followed by New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana and Arkansas. See how other states compared here.

The global #GivingTuesday movement got its start in 2012 at the Belfer Center for Innovation at the 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City. It harnesses the power of social media — you’ll see the #GivingTuesday hashtag popping up on your accounts — and the generosity of people and corporations to unite people around the values of community service and giving.

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