Community Corner
Philanthropy Study Says Foxborough Residents Less Generous Than Average American
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has released detailed information on philanthropy by state, county, town and zip code.
The percentage of income Foxborough residents give to charity is less than the county, state and country averages, according to a study released this week.
However, those making less in Foxborough give the most, percentage-wise.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "How America Gives" study reported that Foxborough residents, with a median discretionary income of $65,194, had a median contribution of 2.6 percent, or $1,719, of their income to charity in 2008, the tax year for which data was collected.
Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
By way of comparison, the county, state, and country's median contribution was 3.6 percent, 2.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. (See chart below.)
Geographic Area Median Discretionary Income Percentage Donated Dollar Amount DonatedFoxborough $65,194 2.6 $1,719
Norfolk County $53,453
3.6
$1,940
Massachusetts $58,099 2.8 $1,652
United States $54,783 4.7 $2,564
The study is based on exact dollar amounts released by the Internal Revenue Service that show the value of charitable deductions claimed by American taxpayers in 2008.
Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Chronicle’s rankings show the percentage of their income that households donated from the money they had left after paying their taxes and covering housing, food, and other essential expenses.
While The Chronicle used averages to compare towns, readers may also search by income bracket. The study shows that those reporting median discretionary income of $50,000 to $99,999 - the lowest bracket in the study - in Foxborough gave an average of 3.8 percent, or $1,151.
Those making $100,000-$199,999 reportedly gave 2.4 percent and those more than $200,000 gave 2.4 percent.
So Foxborough, we want to know ...
Today's question: What do you think of the results of the study?
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.