US Catholic churches seeing fewer donors but a lot more giving: report

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, February 15, 2023

While the number of donors to Catholic churches in the United States is decreasing, the average amount of money each donor gives is increasing, according to a new report analyzing trends following the COVID-19 lockdowns that forced many religious institutions to close.

Earlier this month, the Center for the Study of Church Management at Villanova University’s School of Business released a report, titled “Study of COVID-19 Impact on U.S. Catholic Parish Giving.” The report examined patterns of financial giving following the coronavirus pandemic that forced churches across the U.S. to suspend in-person worship services for many months. The Catholic Church-affiliated university analyzed giving trends at 939 Catholic churches across the U.S. to compile the report.

“After an initial drop, total donations increased over pre-pandemic levels,” the study found. “48% of parishes experienced an increase in giving since March 2020 and 47% experienced a decline.”

The total amount of giving at all churches examined in the study from April 2021 to March 2022 was measured at $891 million. For comparison, the churches received $876 million in donations from April 2018 to March 2019 and $840 million from April 2020 to March 2021, the time period defined by the coronavirus pandemic. Adjusted for inflation, the $891 million given to the Catholic churches studied from April 2021 to March 2022 is only worth $766 million in 2018 dollars.

According to one key finding of the report, “The number of donors decreased by 26% initially and is still over 16% below pre-pandemic numbers. Fewer donations are contributing more to fund parish life. This is good news from a generosity perspective and ominous news from a sustainability perspective.”

While 727,000 donors contributed to the parishes studied in the fall and winter of 2018, well before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, the number of donors dropped to a low of 498,000 in the spring and summer of 2020, the months when the pandemic was at its height. The number of donors increased to 581,000 in the fall and winter of 2022 before decreasing to 554,000 in the spring and summer of 2022.

As the number of donors at the churches studied declined, the amount of money donated per person increased. In the fall and winter of 2018, donors gave an average of $651. The average amount of giving per person dropped to a low of $590 in the spring and summer of 2018, two years before the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

The donations given to churches per person actually increased during the coronavirus pandemic, amounting to $752 in the spring and summer of 2021 and reaching a high of $851 in the fall and winter of 2021. The average amount of money donated to the churches has fluctuated a bit, reaching $713 in the spring and summer of 2022.

However, when adjusted for inflation, the average per-person giving at the 939 parishes amounts to less in the spring and summer of 2022 than it did in the fall and winter of 2018. The average donation amount of $651 in the fall of 2018 remains unchanged, while the average charity amount of $713 in the spring and summer of 2022 is only worth $602 in 2018 dollars.

The survey also broke down changes in the amount of charitable giving at Catholic churches by region. Annual giving at Catholic churches in the Midwest decreased from $294 million in the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic to $286 million in the most recent 12 months. Catholic churches in the Northeast also saw a decrease in annual giving from $163 million to $160 million in the same time period.

Meanwhile, annual donations at churches in the Southeast rose from $226 million before COVID to $237 million in the past year. Catholic churches in the Southwest saw annual contributions increase from $100 million before COVID to $104 million in the most recent 12 months examined. Annual gifts also rose slightly in Catholic churches based in the West, from $88 million to $91 million.

In addition to providing data on the amount of donations given to Catholic churches in the U.S. and the number of donors contributing to them, the report included recommendations as to how churches can increase contributions: “Church leaders should consider a personalized and individualized outreach to lapsed donors seeking to re-establish a relationship with the parish community. Over time, this could lead to a rekindling of their faith, and as a by-product, support for the mission again.”

“Personalized individual outreach is time-consuming and labor intensive, yet it is also the evangelizing work of missionary discipleship to which we are all called,” the study added. According to the report, “A shrinking base of supporters who are more generous can sustain things in the short-term, but a smaller group of donors will be unable to support the current ministries and infrastructure in the long-run. Without a change in this trend, more parish mergers and closures will be inevitable.”

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com