Fidelity Charitable has just released its 2019 Geography of Giving, an annual report that ranks the most charitable cities in the U.S. The cities are evaluated based on how much they contributed to the following key issue areas: arts and culture, education, environment and animal welfare, health, human services, international affairs, religion, and public society benefit.
“As the nation’s largest grant-maker, we seek to understand the complete landscape of American giving—the priorities, concerns, and values of donors across the country—to create a better-informed donor community,” said Pamela Norley, president of Fidelity Charity. “Last year, Fidelity Charitable’s 200,000 donors generously supported more than a 142,000 nonprofit organizations in every state and across the world, but what we consistently see is how dedicated our donors are to their local communities.”
Below are the winners, broken down by the eight key issue areas:
Arts & Culture
Portland, Oregon jumped five spots to become the titleholder in this domain. The previous winner was Boston.
Education
Bridgeport, Connecticut was awarded number one in education for the second year in a row—quite impressive for a city with an estimated population of only 147,000.
Environment & Animal Welfare
Boston, Massachusetts beat out Providence, Rhode Island as number one in this arena.
Health
Not only was Boston ranked number one for environment and animal welfare, it also proved to be the most generous city when it comes to health-related issues.
Human Services
Cleveland, Ohio climbed three places to become top dog in this sector, unseating previous contenders Boston and Bridgeport.
International Affairs
As the political capitol of the U.S., it’s no surprise that Washington, D.C. was ranked number one in this division.
Religion
St. Louis, Missouri held onto its title for the second year in a row.
Public Society Benefit
Miami, Florida was also able to retain its championship title for the second year in a row.