Churches and Christian Nonprofits May Need to Tighten Their Budgets; Here’s the Sad Reason Why

Share:

Even though giving and generosity are cornerstones of Christian doctrine, one out of every five evangelical Protestant adults in the U.S. did not give a penny to either church or charity in the last 12 months, and half are estimated to have given away less than 1% of their income.

These findings come from the new report, “The Generosity Factor: Evangelicals and Giving,: from Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts. The study, which included over 1,000 American evangelical Protestants, examines how and where evangelicals give money. The study also reveals significant age differences in giving, and points to some long-term concerns for donor-supported organizations.

In the 12 months preceding the study, 74% gave to a church while 58% gave to charity. A total of 51% of evangelicals gave money to both a local church and one or more charities or ministries outside of church. Nineteen percent did not financially support either church or charity.

The study also examines evangelical generosity, defined as the total amount of money given as a proportion of household income. Evangelicals who gave to a church averaged 3.2% of household income being used for that giving, while those who gave to charity outside of church averaged 1.4% of household income being used for that purpose.

However, when all evangelical Protestants are considered (including those who didn’t give at all), the averages fall quite a bit: 2.4% of household income goes to church support and 0.8% goes to charities or ministries outside of their church. That’s a total of 3.2% of the typical evangelical’s household income being given away to donor-supported organizations.

Beyond simple percentages and dollar amounts, the study uncovers two critical differences in giving patterns.

One of these is that almost every giving measure—generosity percentages, proportion of evangelicals who give, amounts of money given and so forth—varies dramatically according to the level of engagement evangelicals have with their faith. “There are enormous differences in giving according to how frequently evangelicals read the Bible, attend worship services and participate in a small group,” says Mark Dreistadt, Infinity Concepts founder and president. “Just as one example, generosity levels are nearly 600% higher among daily Bible readers than among evangelicals who rarely or never read the Bible.”

Dreistadt notes that survey research cannot prove causality, but the connection between faith engagement and generosity is undeniable. “We cannot prove through a survey that participating in a small group or reading the Bible more often will result in higher generosity. But the correlation is so clear, strong, and consistent that it lends considerable credence to the position that people are changed in demonstrable ways when they take their faith seriously. One of those ways appears to be their generosity.”

The second critical finding is that younger and older evangelicals are very different in their giving. As age increases, all measures of giving behavior increase. For example, 47% of evangelicals under age 40 gave to charity (excluding church) in the past year, compared to 69% of those 70 and older. The median dollar amount the oldest group gives away is almost double that of the youngest group. Total generosity is 5.1% among the oldest group, falling to 2.7% among the youngest group.

None of the age differences will be surprising to experienced fundraisers; for many years younger people have tended to give less, with giving increasing as they age. However, the study points out warning signs that this traditional change may not happen in the same manner for today’s younger generation.

“Two factors may heavily influence this,” says Ron Sellers, president of Grey Matter Research & Consulting. “One is the rise of the gig economy, which tends to bring more economic uncertainty to people who aren’t always sure where and when their next income will come from. This, in turn, can affect giving. The second is that, as our study points out, younger people are far more involved than older people in direct giving, or person-to-person giving.”

Sellers points to statistics in the report showing younger people are much more likely than older people to give money through financially helping a friend or family member, helping an individual stranger in need, or crowdfunding. “So the question is, if younger people do increase their giving as they age, as has traditionally been the case, will they also turn towards formal ministries and charities? Or will they just increase their direct giving?” Sellers asks.

To request a copy of the full report, please contact:

— Darrell Law, Infinity Concepts vice president and chief growth officer at [email protected] or 724-930-2801. Or

— Ron Sellers, president of Grey Matter Research at [email protected] or 602-684-6294.

Definition of “Evangelical Protestant”
This study uses the definition of “evangelical” favored by the National Association of Evangelicals. Respondents who agreed strongly with four statements about their spiritual beliefs (The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe, It is important for me to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior, Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin, and Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation), and who were not aligned with a non-Protestant faith group (Catholic, Orthodox, Mormon) were included in the study. {eoa}

Grey Matter Research is a marketing research and consumer insights company with extensive experiencing serving both the charitable and religious sectors. The company conducts consumer insights work that helps organizations make wiser, more informed decisions based on knowledge rather than assumptions.

Infinity Concepts is a brand communication agency that inspires people of faith to action through consulting, branding, fundraising, public relations, creative, traditional media and digital media. With almost 20 years of experience, Infinity Concepts specializes in reaching and engaging the Christian audience.

Follow breaking news like this on our new platform, CHARISMA PLUS.

+ posts
Share:

Related topics:

See an error in this article?

Send us a correction

To contact us or to submit an article

Click and play our featured shows

Guiding Through Criticism: The Roadmap to Redemption

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA-rul4E1bY Christian controversy just seems to be a thing these days. It bridges denominations, genders and borders, and when a big name in the Christian sphere stumbles or even falls on their face (metaphorically speaking), there is an army of...

Alexander Pagani and Alan DiDio: How to End Generational Curses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPgr8qjEFx8&t=772s In an interview between apostle Alexander Pagani and Bishop Alan DiDio on the Encounter Today podcast, the two got candid about deliverance and how generational curses can impact the life of a believer. Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today!...

Jentezen Franklin: Israel’s Natural and Spiritual Glory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTRXj-8iznE&t=173s Israel: God’s Promised Land, chosen people and spiritual family. The importance of Israel is so much more than we see even on the surface. Though most of the world sees a tiny nation in the Middle East when they...

The Heretical Bible Coming for Your Kids

Do we need a ‘normal’ bible for children? Bibles made for children to understand the Word of God are not a new phenomenon. However, when it comes the new fundraising by the organization known as The Bible for Normal People,...

Hero Braves Raging Inferno to Save 11-Month-Old

An Ohio man is being hailed a hero after risking his life to save a baby trapped inside a burning home. John Stickovich, 62, told WJW-TV he rescued the 11-month-old child Monday morning, repeatedly going inside the house to try...

Critics Blast BSA for Ditching the ‘Boy’ from Boy Scouts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wbsa9GqVdM After more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America is changing its name to become a more “inclusive” organization several years after welcoming girls and gay boys into its scouting program. The Texas-based organization is dropping “Boys” from...

Take a Step Into Your Destiny

Many Christians are stuck in the starting blocks when it comes to running their race and fulfilling the dreams God has placed in their hearts. Because they aren’t sure how a situation is going to turn out or exactly what...

Uncovered: Who is the Real Benny Hinn?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2DyhGQcegQ Who is the real Benny Hinn? After 50 years in ministry, Benny Hinn has become one of the largest voices in the Pentecostal/charismatic movement. He has been in the throes of controversy many times, especially when it comes to...

Netanyahu: ‘Israel will stand alone’

There is only one path forward for the embattled prime minister of Israel: the return of the hostages taken during the Oct. 7, massacre and the complete elimination of the terrorist organization known as Hamas. As the world recoiled from...

What Does the Rapture Mean for Israel in the End Times?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoE9bR5UxLE&t=1224s How does the rapture connect to Israel? Discussing the end times significance of the rapture, Amir Tsarfati explained how certain Scriptures about the end times, the tribulation and the rapture deal with specific places and future events that will...

1 2 3 4 5 6 97 98 99 100
Scroll to Top