The Future of Giving: It Ain’t Good, Part 2
The average evangelical was giving away only 3.2% of household income to either church or charity, and 19% gave not a penny to either over the previous 12 months.1.
Giving to the Church in America is in freefall, and I want to dive into why that is happening and what you can do about it. This is part two of my series, The Future of Giving: It Ain’t Good, Part 2. Last week, I shared with you that I am reading through three recent studies that all show a consistent decline in giving and, more importantly for the future, the number of people giving to a local church. This is one of many reasons why the future of giving, unless we act quickly, ain’t good.
Why is giving in decline? When it comes to the why of giving’s decline, the Generosity Commission report, The Shifting Landscape of American Generosity, gives the following reasons for the decline in giving.
Economic Precarity – Here are some quotes, “Economic precarity is the most obvious macro explanation for the decline in charitable participation, given the position of the Great Recession (December 2007 to June 2009) as a hinge event.” The study states, “36 percent of the decline in overall giving rates can be explained by declines in income, wealth, and home values.” In my experience, the number one reason why people don’t give is because, in their minds, they can’t afford to. We can argue the validity of that, but when you struggle to make ends meet, church giving is one of the first places people cut back on or out altogether.
Declining Religiosity – The decline in Americans’ religious affiliation and participation in religious institutions is another frequently cited explanation for the donor decline. The study reports that people who attend religious services weekly are more than 50% more likely to have given to charity in the last week than those who do not attend. One reason for the decline in weekly attendance lies in this quote from the study, “the proportion of respondents who said religion was very important to them declined from 62% in 1968 to 39% in 2023.” See my interview in the Bonus Section for more on this.
Tax Incentives – They report, “…after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passage, the proportion of households claiming a charitable deduction on their federal income tax returns fell from 25% in 2017 to 10% in 2018 (and then to 9% in 2019). The study does state that the TCJA has made only a “modest” impact on the decline in giving. They state, “It is possible that the TCJA carried larger signaling effects about the civic value of charitable giving that might have subtly discouraged giving.” When church budgets are stressed, a “modest” impact makes a great impact.
Declining Trust in Institutions — The study quoted a 2023 report showing that Americans’ trust in nonprofits declined from 59% in 2020 to 52% in 2023. Other studies have shown a decline in trust in religion, churches, and pastors. A lack of trust is one of the leading reasons people will decline to give to an organization. Another bad omen for the future is that all three studies I am reviewing point out that younger generations have less affinity to the Church than past generations. If we don’t restore trust, we will never see a return in giving.
Social (Dis)Connection – The study reports that “Over the last several decades, for instance, Americans report spending more time alone (the equivalent of 24 hours more per month spent alone from 2003 to 2020) and less time with friends. Trust in others has also declined steeply, as has the share of Americans who report exchanging favors with neighbors.” This isolation has an impact on giving. They report that “people who belong to, or participate in, one or more community groups or organizations in the previous year are significantly more likely to volunteer (14.3 percentage points) and also significantly more likely to donate money (by 8.6%).” You can read more on this in the Bonus Section.
Demographic Shifts and Generational Succession – “…researchers have linked the decline in charitable giving rates to the divergent beliefs, practices, and life experiences of younger age cohorts who are becoming a larger share of the giving population.” All three studies I am researching point out how generational succession presently is impacting giving. The Generosity Commission report states that millennials believe “that their time, skills, talent, money, voice, purchasing power and ability to network all have equal value, and they offer them as such.” Clearly, all are a part of the stewardship of life, but stewardship is not an either-or option when it comes to giving money as opposed to service.
A Rechanneling of Giving? This quote sums up their meaning well: “Such a possibility points us to another potential explanation for the declining participation rate: that there has been less a decline than a rechanneling of giving practices, a movement within the generosity ecosystem from one form of giving to another, that can explain the declining participation rate in giving to and volunteering with nonprofit organizations.”
The Church now has competition, which is one reason why giving to the church is below 30% of all charitable donations. The Generosity Commission reports show further examples of how giving is being rechanneled to other groups, such as political activism, person-to-person giving, and community care. Thus, one possible explanation for the decline in charitable participation rates is the blurring of boundaries.
All of the above are challenges we now face regarding why giving has declined. Many of the above issues have been problems for decades. Let me share with you one other reason that few will talk about that has further complicated not only the current state of giving but also the future of giving.
Government Overreach During Covid-19 and the Church’s Willing Participation. Few, if any, want to talk about the failure of the Church to correctly navigate through the Covid pandemic. In her book, Shepherds For Sale, Megan Basham reveals how Government agencies pushed closures and vaccinations on church leaders. In reality, we now know that extreme closures were ineffective, and none of these measures helped stop the spread of the virus. These extreme measures harmed more than they helped, which is exactly what the end result was for churches: harm. Harm to attendance. Harm to engagement. And most certainly, harm to giving. None of which has returned to 2019 levels. Attendance has never recovered to its 2019 level, and giving has never recovered.
It’s pretty grim reading. Now you know why I am not a top blogger or best-selling author. I’m just a guy reading data showing me we will start losing more local churches each month. Today’s news is grim because we have kicked this can down the road for far too long. You can’t save all the churches, but let’s focus on saving the one you pastor. I’m frustrated, but I’m not going anywhere. Let’s change this!
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Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach
mark@acts17generosity.com
OnlineGiving.org, the leading online giving processor in America, sponsors my writing. You can find out more about their services at https://www.onlinegiving.org/.
- Infinity Concepts | Grey Matter Research, The Giving Gap: Changes In Evangelical Generosity. 2024 report.
- Giving USA Foundation, Giving by Generation. 2024 report.