Does Iowa Need to Work On Being More Charitable?

We're smack dab in the middle of November which means the winter holiday season is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is only 10 days away and Christmas arrives in 41 days. You may be spending a lot of time with your family and friends in the upcoming weeks and now might be the perfect reminder that this is the season for giving.

This is a fantastic time to remember "it's not about what you get, but what you give" and "it's not what's under the tree that matters, it's who's around it." Iowa might have a little work to do when it comes to how charitable the state is.

Americans as a whole have contributed a lot of time when it comes to volunteering. According to Wallet Hub, 78 million Americans volunteer in the U.S which totals 5.8 billion volunteer hours per year. Where does the state of Iowa rank in the U.S for most charitable states for 2023?

Wallet Hub used 19 indicators to find which states were the most charitable across the country. They broke down those 19 indicators into Volunteering & Service and Charitable giving. Iowa is ranked right in the middle at number 25.

Wallet Hub ranked Iowa 31 out of 50 when it comes to Volunteering & Service and 18 for Charitable Giving. Not terrible when it comes to other states in the U.S but there's definitely room for improvement. It'd be great to see Iowa show up in the top 10 of most charitable states in the U.S.

I would like to point out that if you simply used volunteers per state, Iowa is one of the best in the country. According to Census, Iowa is the 4th best state when it comes to volunteer rate. This past year, 41.5% of Iowa residents volunteered and 1,022,936 Iowans contributed 56.2 million volunteer hours. Those were only the volunteer hours that were reported. Any time someone helped a neighbor or a friend may not have been calculated.

As the holidays approach, now is the time to remember not every Iowan is as lucky as you are. With the holiday spirit in your heart, find a few days to help others who are less fortunate or find a charity to donate to. It doesn't have to be a giant monetary donation either.

Find a charity in the state of Iowa you'd like to get involved with and ask them how you can help. You can also donate all of the change you have sitting in your change jar, you can find ways to donate your time, old toys, and old games, or bringing lunches to people who work during the holidays can be a fantastic way to give back to your community this time of the year.