Religious organizations may receive the largest proportion of charitable dollars, but they're still hurting–even as the rest of nonprofits bounce back post recession, according to the Giving USA Foundation.
In its annual "Giving USA" report, the foundation says that charitable giving to houses of worship and religious organizations fell 2.2 percent when adjusted for inflation in 2012 over the previous year.
According to the report, "While religious organizations continue to receive the largest share of total U.S. charitable giving (32 percent in 2012), the fact that religion is the only subsector of U.S. giving that did not show growth indicates a significant shift in giving–a shift (that) religious nonprofits must understand as they develop donor acquisition and cultivation strategies."
But the 2-percent decrease is consistent with findings released by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), which reported earlier this year that charitable giving to its member organizations decreased nearly 2 percent in 2012. However, while updated statistics from ECFA show that donations to small organizations continue to decline, donations to large nonprofits are on the rise. CT also has looked at which types of Christian ministries are receiving the most money.
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