Faith Based/Religion/Churches

Statistically, more than one-third of all charitable dollars given annually in the United States is directed to religion, and research indicates that faith practitioners are the country's most generous donors.

In the December 2006 issue, then-FS Associate Editor Abny Santicola spoke with God's Love We Deliver about how keeping up with its evolving constituency base keeps funds flowing for the New York City-based organization.

While charitable giving to large Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability-accredited nonprofits and churches increased a modest 2.4 percent in 2012, as compared with a 1.4 percent decrease for 2011, giving to small organizations continued to decline for the second consecutive year, the faith-based financial accountability organization announced. When adjusted for inflation, cash gifts to ECFA members with fiscal years ending Dec. 31 were $5.3 billion last year, compared with $5.1 billion for the previous year.

Here is how three faith-based organizations — The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah, Ga.; Salesian Missions in New Rochelle, N.Y.; and Los Angeles-based Union Rescue Mission — are keeping the faith in fundraising.

In June 2011, a handful of writers took on the task of breaking down traits and tendencies associated with a variety of donor segments — mature, African-American and faith-based — in our story, "Segment Snapshots."

Nearly two-thirds of churches increased donations from 2010 to 2011, a sign that they are beginning to emerge from the financial downturn, according to a new study. Churches that chalked up the biggest increases were those that relied primarily on donors under age 55, the study found.

What’s more, congregations that showed members details about their finances and taught them the value of charitable giving fared better than those that didn’t take such steps, according to an online an online survey of 3,100 mainly Protestant churches.

Here are some of the FundRaising Success Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards winners from the past two years from faith-based organizations.

It’s not often you see a major-gift check signed by God. But with the right mission, impeccable stewardship and an abiding respect for your donors’ beliefs, you might find that faith can, indeed, move mountains.

To kick off December's Mission of the Month, Faith-Based, here are some of the religious and faith-based organizations we've featured here at FundRaising Success.

More and more religious instutions are using credit cards to collect donations at houses of worship. One big player is a service called ParishPay, which works with many Catholic churches and a few synagogues to help sign up worshipers to pay via credit or debit card or automatic payment from their bank accounts. Nearly 1,000 institutions have joined the service, and it claims a 20 percent to 30 percent increase in giving by individuals who enroll.

Another is SecureGive, which has kiosks in churches, Hindu temples and some zoos and hospitals, too.