In this series
Update (June 6): ECFA has released updated statistics showing that donations to large nonprofits are on the rise. Yet small nonprofits are not as fortunate: Donations to these organizations in 2012 decreased for the second year in a row.
According to ECFA, "Organizations with under $5 million in annual revenues saw cash donations decrease by 3.6 percent in 2012, while those above $5 million in revenue saw a 2 percent increase. Charities with under $1 million in annual revenues saw cash donations decrease by 9.6 percent."
CT has spotlighted what type of ministries receive the most money.
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Although charitable giving to member organizations has decreased nearly 2 percent, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) reports that evangelical support for child-related ministries continues to rise–and even more so for short-term missions.
According to ECFA's 2012 State of Giving annual report, cash donations to ECFA-accredited organizations totaled $9.84 billion in 2011, a 1.7 percent decrease from 2010's $9.67 billion.
The previous figure was a 5.8 percent increase over total giving in 2009.
But although total giving is down–reflecting the "tight national economy," ECFA says–contributions in several categories rose significantly over previous years.
The largest giving increase came in the short-term missions category, which saw donations jump 21 percent from 2010 to 2011. In addition, donations to adoption agencies, pregnancy resource centers, and orphan care grew by roughly 12 percent each.
Categories with significant giving decreases for 2011 include camps and conferences (down 10 percent), foundations (8 percent), and K-12 education (8 percent). Giving to denominational churches also decreased by 6 percent.
CT reported how giving to evangelical foundations increased by almost 70 percent in 2010, signaling how wealthy Christians are favoring new tools for family funds.
