Oregonians keep giving.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Oregon has been through a rough patch in the past few years, with high unemployment, sagging business profits and chronic budget shortfalls. Charitable giving would be expected to decline under these circumstances, but it hasn't. The Oregon Community Foundation reports that gifts to charitable organizations in the state have increased steadily since 1997, approaching $1 billion in 2001. Oregonians are willing to give when they're least able but when it's needed most.

The foundation compiled its report by examining records kept by the state attorney general's Charitable Activities Section, which monitors tax-exempt organizations. Gifts to Oregon charities rose by 33 percent from 1997 through 2001, and the number of charitable organizations increased by 16 percent during the same period.

The growth appears to have slowed in 2002. Figures from the attorney general's office are not yet available, so the foundation surveyed 37 "bellwether" organizations and 12 United Way campaigns. Donations to these groups rose by only 1 percent last year. A 5 percent increase in giving by individuals offset declines of 9 percent by foundations and 1 percent by businesses.

These numbers must be understood in context. The assets of Oregon foundations declined by 3.5 percent between January of 2002 and May of 2003, reflecting the retreat in the equity markets. The state's corporate income tax collections, a barometer of business profitability, declined 47 percent in the 2001-02 fiscal year. Personal income also declined, though less dramatically. Yet the preliminary evidence shows that during one of the most economically troubled years in Oregon's recent history, giving not only held its own but inched upward.

Educational institutions are by far the largest recipients of Oregonians' charitable donations, collecting $257 million in gifts in 2001 - up from $146 million in 1997. Gifts to human services organizations approached $55 million in 2001, compared with $32 million in 1997. Groups involved in the arts, culture and the humanities, as well as those that provide health and rehabilitation services, have seen more modest increases. The giving reflects a willingness to invest in the state's future, improve the quality of life and help neighbors in need.

Oregonians' willingness to give compares favorably to that of people in other states. Oregonians donated 2.3 percent of their income to charitable groups in 2001, the foundation reports, the 15th highest percentage in the nation. (Utah ranked first at 5 percent; Washington state was 35th at 1.97 percent.) A decade earlier, in 1992, Oregonians gave only 1.8 percent. If the increase of half a percentage point could be repeated, the foundation calculates that giving would increase by $315 million in Oregon. Half a percentage point of the average Oregonians' income amounts to 60 cents a day.

The $1 billion that Oregonians give to charitable organizations can't replace the educational, health and human services provided by government. But if public services are the warp of Oregon's social fabric, charitable groups are its weft. The fabric, already under terrible strain, would have unravelled if Oregonians had not sustained their giving during difficult times. And now, as the economy improves, the foundation's figures suggest that great things are possible if the growth in donations resumes.