Faith Based/Religion/Churches

Relying heavily on church records in countries that require far more disclosure than the United States, University of Tampa sociologist Ryan Cragun and Reuters analyzed the Mormon church and estimate that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brings in some $7 billion annually in tithes and other donations.

The fourth annual "State of the Plate" constituency survey of more than 1,360 congregations revealed that 51 percent of churches saw giving increase in 2011, up from 43 percent in 2010 and 36 percent in 2009.

In the fall of 2010, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview was looking to build a brand-new donor base through e-mail. Here are the results and lessons learned from working with KMA.

After weeks of fevered fundraising, rallies and anxiety, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput announced Friday that thanks to millions of dollars in donations and pledges, all four archdiocesan high schools set to close in June — St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, Conwell-Egan, Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast and West Catholic — would remain open.

The archbishop said "close to 20,000 financial donations have come in from everyday working lay people," and that an independent foundation would be established to raise $100 million in the next five years to help Catholic schools.

In a very challenging year, Jewish Federation of St. Louis fundraising hit $25 million in current gifts and future commitments. It represents a 47 percent increase over 2010. Funds raised support agencies, congregations and targeted services — in St. Louis and worldwide — to build and maintain a thriving Jewish community.

The $25 milllion includes three major income streams: the 2011 Annual Community Campaign, Jewish Community Foundation and its Create a Jewish Legacy effort; and designated government grants, sponsorships and individual donations for projects that align with Jewish Federation’s strategic plan.

Contributions declined at more than half of Catholic parishes from 2008 through 2010, according to a new study. Roughly 20 percent of parishes said giving remained flat during that time, while 13 percent reported that contributions decreased at first and then rebounded. About 10 percent of parishes said donations rose.

The Center for the Study of Church Management at Villanova University analyzed the data 390 Catholic parishes provided as part of the Faith Communities Today survey, which was conducted by the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership.

American casino and hotel magnate Sheldon Adelson has been dishing out generous donations to Jewish causes over the past week.

On Tuesday, he doubled his overall contribution to Yad Vashem in the past decade by announcing a $25 million gift to the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

A week earlier, Adelson increased his annual contribution to Birthright-Taglit — the program that brings Jews aged 18 to 26 from the Diaspora on a free trip to Israel — twofold, to $10 million

The field of religious advocacy has mushroomed on Capitol Hill in recent decades, a new survey shows, with the number of groups growing fivefold since 1970 and hundreds of millions spent each year to influence issues from school vouchers and immigration to the right of women overseas to have abortions.

The report, released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life, appears to be the most extensive research ever done on D.C.-based lobbyists and advocates on faith matters.

The survey identifies the work of 212 faith-oriented groups, which spend about $390 million per year.

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) announced that cash charitable giving to ECFA members continues to be very strong, totaling $9.38 billion last year, a 5.8 percent increase from the 2009 level of $8.87 billion.

ECFA's second Annual State of Giving Report showed charitable contributions held up especially well among larger charities. Donations to ECFA-member organizations with more than $10 million in annual revenue increased 6.7 percent in 2010, compared with 2009, while organizations with less than $10 million in annual revenue increased 1.6 percent during the same span.

A $1.5 million donation will endow the directorship at the nation's only university-based institute dedicated to exploring the relationship between faith and philanthropy. The anonymous gift announced Thursday endows the directorship at the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving in honor of founder Karen Lake Buttrey, who died in 2010. The institute is part of the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University and is located on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis.