Research on Christian giving in the UK

Action Planning was at the launch of ‘The Generosity Report’, a new research report from Stewardship exploring Christian giving in the UK. What does it reveal about how we give, and what does this mean for churches and Christian charities?

Some examples some striking stats:

• Over half hadn’t heard giving talked about in the churches in the last 2 years.
• More than half, 53%, ‘set and forget’, making a regular gift with no review.
• More than half, 54%, have never been invited to review their giving to their church, and 46% never been invited to review their giving to Christian charities

An excellent panel at the launch reflected on its findings. Among them, Chine McDonald, Director of Theos, reminded us not to assume that people know our need. People give to individuals, and for church leaders particularly, the church community is our family: we need to lean into the story, and earn their trust. Also, it doesn’t always need to be the church leader doing the asking. Rev Wendy Pawsey is the Head of giving at Evangelical Alliance and author of the recently published book ‘Generous with a Capital G’. She reminded us from National Churches Trust research, The total economic and social value that church buildings generate in the UK is at least £12.4 billion per year: roughly equal to the total NHS spending on mental health in England in 2018. And that is on just 2.5% of Christian’s income! Just think how much more could be released. Debra Green from ROC talked about the social aspects of giving, reminding us that those who volunteer actually live longer! We give a lot, but how can we unlock the full giving potential of the church? Some suggestions from the discussion:

• Remember we give primarily to people, not organisations
• Find causes people are passionate about.
• Tell the story.
• Remember that charities and churches can attract extra giving from statutory sources if you can raise initial funds
• Show the impact

 A recent State of UK Fundraising Benchmark report also found that “exceptional gifts” were the main driver of income growth for the third of organisations with growing income: “they are driven by deliberate fundraising strategies that focus on cultivating and nurturing these major donor relationships.” It’s not just major donors. In this report, the larger the organisation, the more likely it is to rank legacies as the most important source of income. For those who have an income of less than £1m, grants, trusts & foundations, major donors and individual giving are the top ranked sources, with legacies behind that. For many churches and Christian charities these exceptional gifts will be legacies as well as major donors. Our legacy strategy needs to sit alongside our strategies for individual and major donors.

We will be talking more about this at our Faith and Fundraising Conference with Stewardship and Yeomans on 26^th March in London. Save the date and watch this space for more information coming very soon!