I know the US is not Canada. But it is likely that, though the numbers are vastly different, the trends in charitable giving are similar in the two countries.
The US numbers are astronomical. The highest sector for charitable giving in the US is by far the religious sector.
In the US faith-based organizations receive $95.88 billion in donations per year. The next highest recipient of donor dollars is the education sector which receives $38.9 billion, followed by human services at $35.4 billion.
But, according to a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, the news for religious institutions in the US is not encouraging.
Charitable giving to the religious sector fell by 1.7 percent last year, according to the Giving USA 2012 report released this week. Since the start of 2010, giving to religious groups has slipped by a cumulative 3.7 percent (not adjusted for inflation).
This shows religion to be lagging in the evermore intense competition for donor dollars, even as other nonprofit sectors gain. Total charitable giving rose by 4 percent in 2011 to $298.4 billion. Of the eight sectors tracked by Giving USA, seven saw donations rise in both 2010 and 2011. Only religion lost ground. (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0622/Giving-to-religious-institutions-drops-for-second-year-in-a-row.-Why)
This trend in religious institutions, experts suggest, could be could be “the start of a long-term slide”. They suggest three causes for the precipitous decline in financial support for religious organizations:
1. declining attendance
2. recession in the economy in general
3. lack of expertise “in deploying professional development teams”
Whatever the reasons and whatever the real numbers, the important question is how churches choose to respond to the reality of present economic decline.
There are two potentially problematic and opposite responses:
1. increasingly aggressive attempts to raise funds
The church is not primarily in the fund raising business. It is important to be responsible about the life of the church; but church exists to deepen our awareness of God’s presence and action in our lives and to encourage us to respond to that awareness in whatever way we sense God calling.
Church leaders need to make the facts available to adherents. But, equally, we need to avoid badgering, pressuring, or manipulating in order to meet the bottom line.
Paul says,
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
There is no place in a faith-based organization for pressure or coercion. In the Christian tradition we are called, not to support any institution, but to live in response to the abundance of God’s love and mercy. Where the church keeps its focus on the work of grace in Christ, there will be adequate resources available to fulfill the tasks to which God is calling us.
2. the development of paralyzing timidity and excessive caution in the life of religious institutions
The church and religious organizations are faith-based communities. We live in trust that there is a power at work in our midst that is greater, stronger, and more benevolent than anything we could ever manufacture.
The writer of 2 Timothy says,
God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.(2 Timothy 1:7)
In family finances, there are clearly times when it is necessary to cut back and economize. But, within reason, churches should do all they can to avoid the cautious paralyzed spirit that is the temptation of economically challenging times. We serve a God who has poured out abundant goodness and richness upon all the earth. We are the stewards of a great abundance. We need to trust in God’s provision and continue to step out boldly in confidence that God provides for anything to which God calls us.
6 comments
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June 28, 2012 at 6:54 am
jaqueline
The US numbers are astronomical.
No, Canada does not compare. No country compares actually. Say what you want about the Americans but in that dept they, like their waistlines are the biggest.
June 28, 2012 at 6:57 am
jaqueline
and I would be very curious to see whether any other country when it is suffering so badly economically would actually INCREASE it’s charitable giving by 4%.
June 28, 2012 at 7:12 am
jaqueline
A call out to our fabulous financial stewards at St Philips. I am so grateful that the money is being handled by those who are careful and knowledgeable with it. Generosity is part of being careful with money, a lake that has no flow does not fill again, it becomes a dead one. But without care there is an opposite fault.
People who do not care about money are there to keep us in balance and remind us of true riches, lest we become obsessed with it…but they are terrible at understanding and handling money and that, if not balanced by those whose gift leans toward accounting, can translate into presumption, disdain and ungratefulness that masquerades as trusting God’s supply.
Abundance does not mean abandon.
June 28, 2012 at 9:47 am
john
Well said Jacqueline…”Abundance does not mean abandon.” Wise words indeed. I will attempt to adopt that as my mantra in business, with my personal finances and with my input into church finances. That ever elusive balance is so important to strive for. Wow, there is even liminal space in the world of money….is there no escape 🙂
June 28, 2012 at 6:42 pm
jaqueline
it feels weird being an advocate for responsible money management because I have struggled with that all my life…it is not just my temperament. I only found out recently after feeling frustrated that materially that that is not unusual for the background I come from. My elder brother does well because he handed all the finance over to his wife. My older two sisters as were not as affected as the rest of us. My younger two sisters, well they are doing worse than I am. I have always been poor and struggle so I really respect and admire those who are able to manage money well, yet generously.
Yet I understand the other view too…I have never FELT poor, because I feel rich in other ways and I have seen provision come my way in very significant ways especially when I was ‘living by faith ‘ as a missionary.
July 4, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Rob
If one disputes the message we are a faith community and need not inform people of our needs than we are deemed not spiritual enough as God will provide our needs. Kind of like tellng the farmer not to work and till the earth as God will supply which he does in rain and vision but people have to make things happen in God’s provision.
If our leaders provide a vision and believe that God will provide the dollars for the operation of the church than they must provide the information and remind the congreagation on a regular basis. We are in it together.
If our budget vis our expenses and regular inflow cause us to be in debt then we must look at how we manage our house and adjust. If we are blessed by having reserves then we have to ask the original purpose of the reserve and view it as longterm needs and refill it but not allow ourselves to dribble it away.
True , a lot of us who belong to a church type community might give more percentage wise of our total giving for charities but in truth most of us give to help others locally and worldwise. If those organizations were always in debt we would question its operation and find a way to give directly to the need.
Certainly as our disposable income is reduced we end up adjusting