California is home to more billionaires than any other state: 246 of them to be exact, according to an April report by Oxfam. It’s where MacKenzie Scott, Jensen Huang, and Mark Zuckerberg have funneled billions into charitable causes.
Yet somehow it’s actually the worst state in the country to be a donor, according to an index by Philanthropy Roundtable. The group, a right-of-center association that advocates for fewer regulatory restrictions on donors and charities, ranks all 50 U.S. states based on how friendly their laws are to charitable giving and nonprofit activity. And California came in dead last with a score of 2.73 out of 10, which is based on the state’s broad economic and tax climate, regulatory burdens charities face in registering and reporting, and the legal protections and tax incentives available to donors. On the report’s donor confidence measure, which tracks tax treatment, donor privacy, and legal protections for donor intent, California scored 0.88, the lowest in the nation by a wide margin.
