North Shore Near the Top of the Philanthropic Pack

The 53217 ZIP code — including Fox Point, Bayside, Whitefish Bay and River Hills —  is in the top 1 percent of all regions nationwide when it comes to charitable giving, according to a report released Monday by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The report, titled "How America Gives," examined Internal Revenue Service data from 2008 — the most recent year available — and provides detail down to the ZIP code level about the generosity of people in particular geographic areas.

The report's website also includes an interactive database that allows users to research charitable giving by state, community or ZIP code.

Overall, the ZIP code's total contributions ranked No. 210 out of 28,725 ZIP codes studied, with its residents having donated $51 million to charity. , according to the report, and the Milwaukee area ranks 42^nd of the 50 largest metropolitan areas.

Data was organized into four categories:

• Total contributions
• Median contributions
• Median discretionary income
• Percent of income given.

Also notable in the 53217, the least affluent families were the most charitable — at least when it came to percentage of income:

• Households with an annual income between $50,000 and $100,000 gave 6.5 percent of that income.
• Households with income between $100,000 and $200,000 contributed 4.2 percent.
• Households with income above $200,000 gave 4.2 percent.