Report: 13 Findings on How to Increase Church Tithe, Donations
Financial offerings to one's church have always been a freewill effort, but more than likely church leaders wouldn't mind receiving extra generous gifts.
A new report from the Leadership Network, a Christian nonprofit ministry headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is giving churches advice on how to increase the contributions they recieve.
In partnership with MortarStone, a donor analytics platform that analyzed over $1.5 billion in personal church giving, Leadership Network's Warren Bird has generated a report that condenses those analytics into the following 13 benchmarks that might help church leaders increase the generosity of their congregants.
1) New contributions
Fifty-five percent of new givers to a church's general fund will give a second time during the course of 12 months.
2) Retention rate
Of all new givers to the church over a 12-month interval, the church will retain 48 percent of them through month 24.
3) Those who continue to give into year two
Congregants who continue giving into year two will contribute 64 percent more throughout months 13-24 than in months 1-12.
4) 6 percent of trackable giving
Six percent of trackable giving to a church's general fund comes from new givers over the course of a year.
5) 69 percent of a church's new giver constituency
69 percent of a church's new givers contribute over $200 annually to the church's general fund.
6) 99 percent of a church's general fund
Ninety-nine percent of a church's general fund comes from "giving units" who contribute $200 or more annually to a church's general fund.
7) $1,000,000
For every $1,000,000 in giving to a church's general fund there are 396 "giving units" behind that contribution.
8) 6 percent
Six percent of a church's "giving units" contribute $10,000 or more each year to a church's general fund.
9) 41 percent of general fund giving
Forty-one percent of general fund giving comes from "giving units" who contribute $10,000 or more each year to a church's general fund.
10) $18,842
Among givers who contribute $10,000 or more each year to a church's general fund, the average annual gift per home is $18,842.
11) $10,000; 0.6 percent
Of new givers, 0.6 percent will give $10,000 or more to a church's general fund during their first year.
12) - 30 percent
The average large church loses 10 "giving units" for every 7 gained during a 12-month period, resulting in a 30 percent loss.
13) 3 percent
Of the "giving units" who have not contributed over the past 12 months, only 3 percent will be reactivated as givers over the next 12 months.
Note: MortarStone represents "giving units" as trackable givers who contribute more than $200 annually. Giving units are categorized into four or five levels, each known as gift bands, each ranging in dollar amounts contributed. Band 1: $1– $199; Band 2: $200 – $999; Band 3: $1,000 – 4,999; Band 4: $5,000 – $9,999; Band 5: $10.000 or more.