The ongoing case of the shrinking offering plate
If you’re associated with one of the hundreds, yeah thousands, of faith-based nonprofits that are eyeing churches as a source of new or increased gifts, I bring you sad tidings. This just in from the Empty Tomb, a Christian research group. Congregational giving has declined for a fourth consecutive years, dropping by a tenth of a percentage point between 2010 and 2011 (the most recent year for which numbers are available).
According to the State of Church Giving Through 2011 report, the only other period of prolonged decline in giving per member was from 1928 through 1934, almost entirely during the Great Depression.Read More »The ongoing case of the shrinking offering plate