By NICOLE VALICEK
WILLIAMSTOWN residents are a charitable bunch, ranking among the 20 most generous postcodes in Victoria.
Williamstown was ranked among the 20 most generous postcodes, in terms of giving as a percentage (0.18) of income, according to the NAB Charitable Giving Index released last.
The index showed donations to charity increased by 2.5 per cent in the past 12 months, and are up by more than 11 per cent since December 2010.
In Victoria, people in Williamstown made the list with people in Brunswick East the most generous, donating the biggest proportion of their annual income to charity.
In terms of the highest amount donated in Victoria, those in Brighton gave the most.
NAB chief economist, Alan Oster, said that charitable giving in Australia had experienced an upturn in growth over past two months (to August), reversing the previous downward trend. This has occurred despite signs of a slowing domestic economy, softening labour market and heightened consumer anxiety over the cost of living.
“Australians are increasingly generous – and although donors from higher income postcodes tend to donate the most in dollar terms, they do not necessarily donate the most relative to their incomes,” Mr Oster said.
Older donors, aged 65 plus, have the highest average annual donations for all charities, donated more frequently across most categories and supported more charities.
“Compared to older Australians, those aged 15-24 exhibited big fluctuations in the rate of giving across most charity sub-sectors, reflecting uncertainty in unemployment for the cohort.”
