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May 21, 2009
Donors rethinking their giving strategy
Those organizations who depend on the faithful giving of a specific donor base (this includes churches) are paying very close attention to the giving habits of their core contributors. Many in the traditional non-profit world are hurting and simply trying to survive as they balance growing needs with the increasingly limited availability of the necessary resources to fund the desired relief.
Giving to churches has not suffered as much as the traditional non-profit world has recently. Nonetheless, there is a shift taking place among the people who sit in our pews. They are wrestling with the same issues many donors are: should I (or will I have to) cut my funding to some non-profit and/or charitable causes in light of a struggling economy?
One couple featured in Smart Giving in a Troubled Climate outlines their strategy. They decided to cut back on what they determined were non-essential causes in part so that they could in turn increase their funding to those organizations/causes who are directly impacting the greatest needs.
"In tough times...people tend to gravitate toward direct service because they want something concrete from their giving."
This couple didn't stop giving. Rather, they redirected their available resources to those organizations or causes who were the best at demonstrating their ability to accomplish the work they seek to do.
As church leaders, we must be absolutely convinced that the Church is the primary institution God empowered to carry forward the earthly ministry of Christ until his return. And we also carry the burden of ensuring we are leading people to perform measurable acts of ministry that are consistent with what we teach about our faith. If we don't, we risk losing our funding as the people in our pews direct those resources to those who can.
Julie A. Lucas, an assistant dean who raises money for Fordham Law School in New York, said that "people are really thinking more carefully about what they will support, and while they may have supported a broad range of causes before, many are now giving less to each or giving to fewer organizations."
If the people in your pews had to choose, would they classify the ministry of your church as non-essential? (Hint: They are already faced with making that choice. What are you doing about it?)
Posted by bstroup at May 21, 2009 2:08 PM
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