Books, condoms, musicals, and retraining the homeless. There are a lot of ways to explore the psyche of a city, but surely one of the most credible is simply noting where its money goes. There, the Seattle Foundation’s recent GiveBIG campaign offers plenty of insight. 3.6-million-dollars’ worth.

They’ve produced two lists, one with top non-profit organizations by number of donors, and one with top organizations by total given. At the top of both lists are the Seattle Public Library Foundation and Planned Parenthood. The 5th Avenue Theatre is right up there, too, and so is FareStart.

At mid-list is the sustainability-focused Bainbridge Graduate Institute.

So there you have it: Seattle believes in sharing information, having protected sex, weeping to Sondheim, studying sustainability, and unleashing the Tom Douglas inside people on the street. These are our core values. That’s what got us to #5 on Richard Florida’s Creative Cities list.

If it’s also clear evidence why the rest of Washington State has trouble “getting” what Seattle is about, I think we can be proud of a such a distinct personality. It’s why people from New York tumble head over heels for Seattle. Who knew, way out here on the frontier?