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E-Giving Vs. Old Giving: New Research on Church Donations

Aaron Earls - April 13, 2018 4 Comments

offering plate e-giving research

By Aaron Earls

More churches are adding online giving, but the tried-and-true offering plate still brings in the most money.

A recent study found 74 percent of U.S. churches offer congregants the ability to give online. That’s up from 42 percent just a few years ago in 2015.

The Dunham+Company/Campbell Rinker study asked 512 church leaders and administrators about their churches’ giving options.

Larger churches—those with 200 or more attendees—saw a jump in online giving. In 2015, 70 percent of larger churches offered online giving. That climbed to 90 percent in 2017.

The largest increase, however, happened in smaller churches—those with fewer than 200 attendees. In 2015, only 29 percent used online giving. Last year, that number more than doubled to 59 percent.

Among churches with an annual budget of less than $250,000, the number offering online giving doubled from 27 percent to 54 percent.

There was a similar increase among churches with fewer than three paid staff members—30 percent in 2015 to 58 percent in 2017.

While churches are increasingly providing the option to members, it’s unclear how often people actually take advantage of it.

In 2015, 12 percent of church giving came from online. That rose slightly to 15 percent in 2017, with the increase coming from larger churches.

The share of money collected through the offering plate at larger churches declined only 6 percentage points from 2015 to 2017—from 80 percent to 74 percent.

Smaller churches, despite the large jump in the number who offer online giving, had no real change in the budget percentage given through the offering plate.

In 2015, 81 percent of smaller churches’ budgets came from the offering plate. In 2017, it was 80 percent.

Smaller churches actually brought in a lower percentage of their budget online. It declined from 12 percent to 8 percent.

“Although smaller churches have begun to adopt online giving as an option, it’s clear that the trend is not catching on with congregants,” said Trent Dunham, president of Dunham+Company.

Related:

  • 7 Traits of Churches With Increased Giving
  • Twenty-First Century Giving: 10 Reasons to Consider Going Online
  • More Devout Means More Giving
  • Rise in Online Banking Drives Need for Online Giving Options

AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.


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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bill Valler says

    April 15, 2018 at 7:42 am

    When talking about giving I see no discussion on the broker fee. That impacted my giving modality as I would rather give all to my church than a financial entity.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Notable Voices and the Week in Review: April 14, 2018 | The Christian Mail says:
    April 14, 2018 at 8:07 am

    […] E-Giving Vs. Old Giving: New Research on Church Donations — Facts & Trends […]

    Reply
  2. All Around the Web – April 16, 2018 – sola evangelii says:
    April 15, 2018 at 11:11 pm

    […] Facts & Trends – E-Giving Vs. Old Giving: New Research on Church Donations […]

    Reply
  3. Funeral homes in the U.S. are limiting services because of the coronavirus | All things here says:
    October 1, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    […] wish parishioners would give online, in-person giving (as in tossing money in the basket) is still the main way most people make their offerings and tithes, especially in smaller […]

    Reply

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