78209 is @ it Again...

[Merovee]

Originally Posted by Chaka

I'm not so sure. The portion of KW that is significantly wealthy (i.e. with large amounts to donate as opposed to small contributions) is fairly small. More than half of KW residents are more typical working professionals similar - in income at least - to most typical suburban families ($65-150K/yr) with another significant portion well under that. I don't have the precise figures, this is the information I've seen discussed at meetings and such, so could be a little off, but it fits (don't let the current home prices fool you. Many bought their houses 10-20 years ago, when they were dirt cheap).

And while I don't have the source, I've seen $35K/yr mentioned as the average income for Lavaca. That actually sounds right. There is a growing population of professionals, but they're not really old money/very wealthy (again, that $65-150K range), and there are still many old timers here who are on fixed incomes.



In reference to downtown zip codes:
Also keep in mind that for both neighborhoods, the zip codes (78210, 78205) encompass much lower income areas to the south, west, and east.

As for near north/the new downtown, there are really not that many residents yet, and most seem to be younger/starting out. Not quite sitting on money to give away.

All that said, sitting on the board of a charity in the area, most of our donors come from the neighborhood. A few are VERY LARGE donors, most are smaller donors. There's a substantial amount of financial giving, also a huge amount of volunteerism, but it's not at obvious philanthropic levels to rival old money.

All that is to say that there IS a lot of giving going on, but I'm not surprised that it's not measurable or obvious to the same extent that it might be elsewhere with a higher proportion of wealthy (i.e. incomes >$250K/yr).

Very interesting post and information you have provided.

I was just referring to King William proper since it has for decades been the quarters of old money. Quite a few members of the San Antonio Conservation Society live there just as many more members live in Alamo Heights and they of course all know each other. The conservation society's main office is on King William Street itself.

King William did go into decline but by the late '60s and early '70s with their designation as a historic district change had already began and was well underway. This was before Southtown was even called that because those areas were quite different back then. Southtown is fairly recent and in transition still but King William has for a long time been an old money enclave.

Of course philanthropy is one thing while being progressive is another. Southtown is a welcome addition because for as long as King William has been an enclave there were no changes in the South side, they left it as is, donated to their charities but the impact was not felt here. With Southtown now changes are happening, not just in Southtown but throughout all the South side and you guys are making this possible for all of us.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by Merovee

Very interesting post and information you have provided.

I was just referring to King William proper since it has for decades been the quarters of old money. Quite a few members of the San Antonio Conservation Society live there just as many more members live in Alamo Heights and they of course all know each other. The conservation society's main office is on King William Street itself.

The Conservation Society isn't really about wealth, it's about preserving the heritage - mostly architectural - of the area. The few people I know in the organization are far from wealthy. There are a few old families here, but of the "Old Money" types - most were raised in Alamo Heights but even they are pretty much your typical working class professionals. Yes, we have Charles Butt, but not a lot of 1%ers in the area. I'm not sure how accurate city-data is, but they list the KW neighborhood as having a median income of $43,897 as of 2009. It may have increased somewhat in the last few years but I doubt it's even doubled.

And as you know, King William proper is quite a small area. "Baja" KW - which is part of KW Historic District - is probably double the size.

There are plenty of old curmudgeons on the KWA Board, but a really tiny portion who are old families with old money. I do know a handful of "old families" whose current generation are simply working professionals - strong ties, but no real $ associated with it.


Anyway, I'm not going to split hairs, but I know many have a misperception that King William is the home of the super wealthy. It has a few super wealthy, but this is the first time I've ever heard of it referred to as an Old Money enclave.


f/u: I think there's also a misperception that everyone in Alamo Heights is "wealthy." It IS the home of old money/old families, and is likely to have a higher proportion of the local wealth than other places, but lots of people living on modest - comfortable, but modest - incomes.

[Merovee]

I know the mission of the conservation society and that it was populated by old money, which are not the same things, as you pointed out, but it did take money to be part of it at first as not many others had free time to devote to preservation of our history (so glad they did!), but it is good to know that they accept other types judging by the few members you personally know.

You are so right in that the children of old money rarely inherit the old money lifestyle and have to get regular jobs (or what would be considered regular work in other parts of the country).

Back to KW, it and surrounding areas are all so much nicer now than they were 20 and 30 years ago. There is a spirit of progress occuring there that is pushing San Antonio into a renaissance that is equal to if not better than traditional philanthropy as measured by this report.

They should study which areas are having the most impact on the city by transforming themselves and extending improvements into surrounding areas.

[RedNeckRick]

My family gave almost 20% of my gross last year to charity. Part was for the write off but the majority was for good causes that we believe in. People will always give when it is their choice of who and how much to give. When the government starts mandating the the amount and the place that we have to give then that's where I draw the line. Yes, I am a Rebel '09er.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by RedNeckRick

My family gave almost 20% of my gross last year to charity. Part was for the write off but the majority was for good causes that we believe in. People will always give when it is their choice of who and how much to give. When the government starts mandating the the amount and the place that we have to give then that's where I draw the line. Yes, I am a Rebel '09er.

why should the gov't have to even give a deduction for charitable donations? That in itself is where gov't should've never got involved. People give because they want to, not because they get a special tax break because of it.

[RedNeckRick]

Originally Posted by wehotex

why should the gov't have to even give a deduction for charitable donations? That in itself is where gov't should've never got involved. People give because they want to, not because they get a special tax break because of it.

Like i said, the majority was because I believe in the organizations. I just threw in a little extra for the write off. At least I admit it. So many would never do that.