Melissa Betancourt recently helped her favorite cat find a new home.
The 20-year-old Humane Society volunteer spent nearly half of her fall mornings with Erjay, a hefty beige cat, meowing on her lap before a family adopted the feline last month.
Since she was in middle school, Betancourt has volunteered with the shelter, helping cats like Erjay become fit for homes. But according to WalletHub’s report of the nation’s most charitable states, she’s not like the average Floridian.
Florida ranked No. 42 on the list. The social media site placed Utah first and Nevada last.
“I’m actually very surprised that we ranked so poorly,” said Betancourt, a UF criminology and anthropology junior. “You don’t think college kids spend their spare time volunteering, but we really do.”
WalletHub analyzed eight categories, including volunteer rate, charity donations and growth in giving. It used census data, Gallup polls and IRS data to see which states were most charitable with their time and money.
“We wanted to spark people’s willing to give,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub’s spokesperson.
Florida ranked No. 47 in volunteer rates but No. 5 in the highest growth in charitable giving from 2006 to 2012.
There are about 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S., but only about 75,000 of them exist in Florida. One of those is Miracles of Hope, a local nonprofit branch that helps people with diabetes and their families. They provide service dogs, support and supplies.
“Miracles of Hope has truly been supported by the Florida community,” said Robert Fulton, Miracles of Hope founder and president. “To me, Florida ranks No. 1 in giving with the heart.”
Out of the nonprofit organizations in Florida, fewer than 28,000 of them make more than $25,000 in revenue.
“You don’t work in the nonprofit sector for the money,” said Muthusami Kumaran, a UF associate professor in nonprofit management. “You have to have a service mentality. Many students here have that.”
Kumaran, who teaches students how to make nonprofits better through courses on fundraising and volunteer management, said that there are two ways to look at why Florida performed so poorly: the effectiveness of the nonprofits themselves and the nature of giving in residents.
“Gainesville has a very vibrant giving community, but it’s because of the UF students,” Kumaran said.
“At this point, giving is part of who I am,” said Betancourt.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 12/7/2014]
Most charitable states:
1. Utah
2. South Dakota
3. Idaho
3. Kansas
5. Nebraska
6. Minnesota
7. Montana
8. Washington
9. Oregon
10. Maryland
Least charitable states:
1.Nevada
2.West Virginia
3.Kentucky
4.New Jersey
5.Arizona
6.Louisiana
7.Arkansas
8.Rhode Island
9.Florida
10.California
