Alexandria is tops in charitable giving

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- You may not realize how generous the region is. When it comes to charitable giving online, several cities and towns in the region are on the way to being the most generous, according to an analysis by Convio, a company that provides Web-based software to charities.

Alexandria is on its way to taking the title as the most generous large city. It already holds the title for giving in 2008. In 2008, residents of Alexandria contributed roughly $15,000 online per 1,000 people.

Through August, Arlington and D.C. also are among the top 10 most giving large cities on a per capita basis. Bethesda, Silver Spring and Fairfax are on the top 10 list for small cities in terms of actual dollars given.

All of the cities made the 2008 top 10 list, along with Rockville.

Here are the most generous large cities (total populations of more than 100,000) through August 2009 based on per capita giving:

1. Alexandria, Va.
2. Cambridge, Mass.
3. Minneapolis, Minn.
4. Arlington, Va.
5. Seattle
6. St. Louis
7. Austin, Texas
8. Bellevue, Wash.
9. Washington
10. Pittsburgh

Convio says the most generous small cities through August 2009 in actual dollars given are as follows:

1. Paramus, N.J.
2. Princeton, N.J.
3. Georgetown, Texas
4. Katy, Texas
5. Bethesda, Md.
6. Silver Spring, Md.
7. Spring, Texas
8. Marietta, Ga.
9. The Woodlands, Texas
10. Fairfax, Va.

In 2008, the following were the most generous large cities (greater than 100,000) based on per capita giving:

1. Alexandria, Va.
2. Cambridge, Mass
3. Minneapolis, Minn.
4. Washington
5. Arlington, Va.
6. St. Louis, Miss.
7. Seattle
8. Bellevue, Wash.
9. Berkeley, Calif.
10. Ann Arbor, Mich.

Here are the top 10 most generous small cities in 2008:

1. Princeton, N.J.
2. Carlsbad, Calif.
3. Wilmington, Del.
4. Alpharetta, Ga.
5. Bethesda, Md.
6. Marietta, Ga.
7. Silver Spring, Md
8. Boca Raton, Fla.
9. Rockville, Md.
10. Fairfax, Va.

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