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October 13, 2008
Exploring the impact of American Idol on church giving
"Participatory Philanthropy" may be the next revolution in charitable giving. TripAdvisor.com is asking the public to decide which cause the company should support.
Here is how the program works: TripAdvisor.com is offering five options for the public to choose how the $1 million dollar pledge will be divided. Polls close on a certain date, and then the results will determine how the money is spent and which organizations/causes are supported.
I wonder what this might look like in church. What if the initial budget presentation to the church body signaled the opening of the "polls" where members could pledge their monetary gifts for the specific ministries they want to to support? Then after a certain period, the "polls" would close and the results tallied. The end result would be any ministry that was significantly underfunded would be cut from the budget.
This works for American Idol which is arguably the most successful talent-seeking competition in history. It has also produced multiple pop stars who have been and continue to be very successful.
The dark side of the process is that sometimes, even the talented get cut. This would also have to be considered within the church setting. It may mean the a long-standing ministry might end up so underfunded that it would also be subject to the proverbial axe.
The appeal for me (even as a church leader) is that it puts the power back in the people in the pew - the ones who are giving the dollars to fund the budget. And people tend to be more committed and give more when they have a say in how their donations are used.
Given the precedent of undesignated giving within church settings, would an "American Idol" approach to giving work?
Posted by bstroup at October 13, 2008 9:44 AM
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Comments
Just thinking about 100’s of ministry representatives planting stand ins at America’s mega churches (because that’s the only ones they would go stand in line at) waiting with big numbers on their chests to get a chance to audition for a missions gift . . . makes me nauscious.
Though the article points out that Idol has produced many stars, . . . We would no doubt get a few false Clay Aiken’s as well.
Let’s leave reality TV out of reality church.
Posted by: Scott P. at October 14, 2008 3:22 PM