In 2012, a new tradition began following the American holiday of Thanksgiving. There were already two days dedicated to shopping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but a team in New York City wanted to give people a reason to spend money on people other than themselves. So, they created Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday “kicks off the charitable season, when many [people] focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving … [Giving Tuesday] has become a movement that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy with events throughout the  year and a growing catalog of resources.”

Giving Tuesday “harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world” to raise impressive amounts of money every year through the charitable actions of “nonprofits, civic organizations, businesses and corporations as well as families and individuals.” Each year, countries earn a place on the World Giving Index, and WalletHub ranks the American states that are considered the most charitable. WalletHub also has a Charity Calculator designed to help people figure out if they will make a bigger impact if they give their time or their money to a charity.

The five most charitable states in the United States in 2018 have so far been Minnesota, Utah, New York, Maryland and Connecticut. Despite not making the top five, or even the top 20 charitable states, Vermont had the most charities per capita at 27.18. Nevada had the fewest with 5.83. Utah, meanwhile, held both the records for the highest volunteer rate, 39.29 percent, as well as the most volunteer hours per capita, 75.6. Florida was found to have the lowest volunteer rate with 18.31 percent, and Kentucky had the fewest volunteer hours per capita with 20.7.

The generosity of states ranked high on WalletHub puts those communities among the most charitable communities in the world as the United States is currently ranked fourth in the world for charitable giving according to the World Giving Index.  People living in those states can celebrate. For those who want to increase their state ranking, however, there is still time. 2018 does not end for another 35 days, and Giving Tuesday is far from over. So, find the charity that you love, and give back to the wider world.