Understanding church giving can be tricky. Deciding how to update your church’s fundraising strategy can be even trickier! And that’s where looking at some recent church giving statistics can help. These statistics show upcoming trends, what has worked for most churches, how donor behavior has an effect on church giving, and more, and help churches…
![18 Most Interesting Church Giving Statistics [2023]](https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Blog-images-2023-Feb-3-1.png)
Understanding church giving can be tricky. Deciding how to update your church’s fundraising strategy can be even trickier! And that’s where looking at some recent church giving statistics can help.
These statistics show upcoming trends, what has worked for most churches, how donor behavior has an effect on church giving, and more, and help churches with preparations to make the most out of their fundraising.
In this article, we’ve pulled 18 interesting statistics so you can feel prepared to take on church fundraising this year and beyond. We’ll look at the following –
1. In America, 17% of families reduced the total annual amount they give to their local church. [nonprofitssource.com]
Note that this isn’t that fewer people are giving to churches – it’s that they’re giving less. This decrease makes fundraising all the more important!
If one donor gives less in 2023, that means churches need to find more donors to help bolster their fundraising.
2. According to a survey of nearly 3,000 churches, the average per-person giving in 2022 was $2,848. [churchsalary.com]
Understanding the average church offering per person can help you come up with a budget based solely on your church attendance.
How does your average compare to that of the churches in this survey?
3. As churches grow larger, their per-person giving decreases.
This might seem counter-intuitive, but remember that this is per-person giving – not overall giving for your church.
The larger your church congregation, the more your church will make annually. But you’ll receive tithes of all sizes, meaning your per-person giving might decrease.
Having a fresh and adaptable fundraising strategy can help you boost your per-person giving!
4. Nearly 50% of all church-giving transactions are made with a card. [nonprofitssource.com]
When almost half of all church donations happen with a card, it’s necessary to provide this option to your congregants.
You can offer online giving with a donation form (with other kinds of quick, digital checkout) or you can create an in-person church giving kiosk with a solid card reader app to process donations.
Donorbox donation forms are equipped with card payments as well as bank transfers, digital wallets, and direct debit payments. We also offer a card reader app called Donorbox Live ™ Kiosk that you can use with a tablet and a card reader device to accept in-person donations at your events or church.
5. Of those who give, 60% are willing to donate digitally to their church.
Online donations will continue to be a preferred option for church giving in 2023. But even for donors who aren’t currently giving to your church online, digital donations are something they’re willing to try.
With Donorbox UltraSwift ™ Pay (which comes enabled by default with all online donation forms), you can accept church donations with digital wallets like Venmo, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal. Your donors will also have the option to proceed to use other payment methods like card and bank transfers.
6. Churches that have an online tithing option saw an increase of 32% in overall donations.
When your congregants have more options to give, they’ll give more! Think about it: with cash becoming less and less popular, people might not have the option to tithe if their only method is through the weekly offering plate.
Missing out on those donations isn’t an option – and isn’t necessary when online tithing is so easy to set up. With Donorbox, thousands of churches are accepting online tithes and offerings by setting up a donation form and using the Donorbox-hosted fundraising page or by embedding the form in their own websites. Here’s an example for your better understanding –
7. Adults who attend Protestant churches in America give about $17 a week on average.
Tithing is meant to be a weekly activity. So it’s no surprise that people who give on a recurring basis end up giving 42% more over time than people who don’t give regularly.
This steady connection of tithing with your church is made even easier with recurring donations that empower donors to manage their own recurring giving.
On Donorbox, you can set up a recurring donation form in just a few minutes – our forms are also highly customizable to fit your brand! You can choose from various donation intervals including daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Donors will have their own accounts to pause, resume, or cancel their recurring plans, download receipts, change payment methods, and more.
8. Of those who tithe regularly, 77% give 11% to 20% (or sometimes even more!) of their income. [nonprofitssource.com]
These percentages are huge when you think about someone’s entire yearly income. Often, it’s easier for people to give this amount when they donate on a regular basis – weekly, biweekly, monthly, or even quarterly.
Giving a little every week can add up for your church in a big way!
9. 17% of Americans tithe on a regular basis.
At first glance, this might come across as a small number. But according to a Statista survey, 22% of Americans attended religious service every week in 2021.
What does this mean for your church? If you can encourage your weekly congregation to give and make it easy for them to do so by including all the ways that they prefer to use, you can boost weekly donations to your church!
10. Acts of service are preferred over money donations by 26% of Catholics in America. [balancingeverything.com]
This is good news because church volunteers are so very important.
Allowing acts of service means bolstering your church’s programming, which can help you connect with more of the community. And the majority still want to support your church financially, too!
11. Of those surveyed, 51% claim to donate online between 2 and 11 times a year.
The majority of Catholic churchgoers give more than once a year. Making their giving as easy as possible will allow them to give even more regularly!
Add recurring giving to your church and let your supporters know its importance in furthering your church’s mission. Connecting your impact and work with the need for donations is key to boosting church giving.
12. 26% of those who attend Catholic Mass weekly donate money online.
Offering easy ways to access online giving like QR codes posted around your church or text-to-give functionality helps capture would-be donors who have no cash.
With Donorbox, you get a free QR code for every campaign you create on it. Customize, download, and use it to help more donors give with your donation form online!
Donorbox Text-to-Give is also a simple-to-use mobile-giving option for your church supporters. You can activate this feature for your campaigns and share your unique campaign ID along with the texting number with your congregation. They will send that ID to the number and receive a mobile-friendly like to complete the donation. They can also easily repeat their donations just by sending a text and confirming to give!
13. Church crowdfunding campaigns that update supporters get 126% more donations than campaigns that do not offer updates.
Updating donors following your church crowdfunding campaign helps build momentum. It also assures people that their donations are being used in the right way by your church.
In your updates, you can show how the funds are helping your church and community. You should add images and videos of real impact. This also encourages more giving.
Donorbox Crowdfunding makes it easy to send campaign updates to your donors as well as potential donors. You get a dedicated “updates” tab on the page where you can add those precious updates for all!
Your campaign visitors will be able to subscribe to updates using a button on the page and donors will automatically be added to your list. You can then send emails to these subscribers from the campaign page, thus building momentum for all!
14. Campaigns that aren’t shared at least twice have a 97% chance of failure. [nonprofitssource.com]
Sharing is so important because it creates social proof. Social proof shows would-be supporters that your organization is not only reputable but desirable to support!
Crowdfunding campaigns on Donorbox make it easy to share with social media buttons so you reach – and surpass! – the two-share minimum. Here’s what it looks like –
Start Crowdfunding For Your Church!
15. Church crowdfunding campaigns that feature videos raise 150% more on average than those without videos.
One of the most important storytelling tools we have these days is video. Videos engage audiences in a way text simply can’t. Therefore it’s no surprise that church crowdfunding campaigns with videos raise so much more than those without!
Choosing a crowdfunding platform that makes it easy to customize the campaign description with images and videos, post video updates, and more will help your church harness the power of the crowd for your next capital campaign.
16. Out of 10 tithers, 7 give based on their gross income instead of their net income.
This means that a significant portion of your tithers supports a church based on their income before taxes and other withholdings are taken out. So more of their net income goes toward supporting their church.
17. 31% of people in the US showed a great deal of confidence in churches in 2022, that’s a drop of 6 percentage points from 2021. [news.gallup.com]
This also reflects in the number of people who attend church services or make a donation to your church. A great way to tackle this is to take charge of your church accounting, share financial reports or statements, and build transparency around the work you’re doing.
While appealing for donations is crucial, showing people what you did with their donations last month or year is even more important. Improve your donor communications and build on the existing relationships by sending updates more regularly and thank-yous and receipts on time.
18. Currently, Christians give 2.5% of their current income.
Interestingly, this is down from 3.3% during the Great Depression in America. A variety of factors affect how much churchgoers give, including inflation, taxes, perceived value, and more.
Church donor behavior will always fluctuate, so understanding that this will change yearly can help you devise a targeted strategy.
Thousands of churches use Donorbox to increase their church funds by making it easy, quick, and convenient for churchgoers to give. And on the backend, strong analytical tools help churches understand their donors, segment audience, and integrate with leading CRM tools, leading to long-term donor retention.
Learn more about Donorbox products and plans on the website.
Sign up for free to start fundraising today!
Online giving will remain strong throughout 2023, and likely for the foreseeable future. Church giving has changed a little as the macroeconomy deals with inflation and changes in lifestyle, but those who tithe regularly will continue to do so.
And there’s a lot of opportunity to connect with new members of the community. Crowdfunding and recurring giving continue to be popular ways to connect with church supporters.
When you know the bigger picture, it’s much easier to strategize. Any church fundraising strategy is only as good as the tools it uses – that’s where Donorbox can help! Our products are designed to elevate your fundraising, bring more donations, and boost your donor acquisition.
Check out what the Donorbox Nonprofit Blog has in store for you – church fundraising guides, articles, tips on management and leadership, free templates, and more! Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll send the best collection of these resources to your inbox every month.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower