Time to give, but to who and how?
Dr. Glenn Mollette American Voices
What is the average giving per person in church?
Studies show that churches of different sizes see different per-person giving rates. The larger the church, the smaller the rate of per-person giving both weekly and annual donations.
Some interesting figures:
• Churches raised $135.78 billion in 2021 (Source: GivingUSA).
• Churches in the U.S. received 27 percent of all donations in 2021 (GivingUSA).
• Forty-four percent of U.S. adults are digital donors (Barna).
• An average congregation records a yearly income of $242,910 (Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion).
• Congregations in the U.S. collect around $74.5 billion each year (Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion).
• Forty-nine percent of all donations to churches comes from credit cards or other electronic means (Enterprise Apps Today).
• Forty percent tithe by means of cash (Enterprise Apps Today).
• Sixty percent are willing to give to their church digitally (Enterprise Apps Today).
• Churches that accept tithing online see a 32 percent increase in overall donations (Nonprofits Source).
• Thirty-seven percent of regular church attendees don’t give money to church (Nonprofits Source).
ChurchSalary found that churches of 50 people saw $2,589 as average annual per-person
See MOLLETTE, page A6 MOLLETTE
From page A4
giving, while churches of 5,000 in attendance reported an average annual per-person giving of $2,340.
Lower rates of giving at larger churches make sense when you keep in mind that 37 percent of churchgoers do not give money to their church.
As attendance increases at a church, the number of people who do not give to that church will also increase.
• Five percent of churchgoers tithe regularly (Church Development).
• Fifty percent of those who donate give about 2 percent of their income (Church Development).
• Regular attendees give $1,737 more per year than those who attend less than once a month (Philanthropy Daily).
Giving USAKey findings from Giving USA 2024 reported that individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $557.16 billion to U.S. charities in 2023.
The average charitable donation is $2,588 for those making less than $50,000 per year and $3,305 for those making $100,000 to $500,000 annually (The Giving USA 2024 Report).
People give to their churches and charities out of what they have available to give. Americans don’t give out of what they don’t have. Americans don’t give more than what they have. They give out of what they have.
Churches and nonprofits are expected to do their work on what they receive from donations and or from the work they conduct. When their money is spent then they are on their own until more is received.
Many Americans give what they can based on the need and their emotional connection to the church or charity.
People give based on what they see as the need for their response. If there is no emotional feeling for the entity or the cause there is most likely very little to no financial support.
For example, Kamala Harris has raised over $1 billion since entering the presidential race. No presidential candidate has ever raised so much so fast (New York Times).
Former president Donald Trump has raised about $350 million. President Job Biden had raised over $600 million before he dropped out of the race (Forbes.com).
Americans are intensely interested in the direction of our country and are giving accordingly.
Who will you make your next donation to and why?
Dr. Glenn Mollette is a graduate of numerous schools including Georgetown College, Southern and Lexington Seminaries in Kentucky. He is the author of 13 books including Uncommon Sense, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook: Insights from a Fellow Minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. Learn more at glennmollette. com.
