Last week Giving USA released its findings about the state of charitable giving in America showing that Americans in 2007 donated $306.4 billion.  After adjusting for inflation donations only rose by 1%.  Most experts are expecting this year to be a much more challenging year for charities including religious charities.  The Chronicle of Philanthropy in their June 26th edition ran an extensive article about how the economy is impacting charities and the Giving USA report.  Here are some key facts about charitable giving overall.

• Donations last year equaled 2.2% of the nation’s gross domestic product, a figure that has changed little in the past decade.
• Individuals donated an estimated $229 million, a drop of 0.1% from 2006.
• Comparing charitable giving to spending by consumers found that donors gave more than double what they paid for electronics, $129 billion, but less than what they spent on eating out $416 billion.

Since our focus is exclusively religious organizations I wanted to share their findings on religious giving.  So here are some facts:

• Giving to religious causes grew more slowly last year than to any other type of organization but still accounts for about a third, 33.4%, of all giving in the United States at $102.3 billion.
• Percentage of increase after inflation was 1.8 percent.
• Growth over the last decade was 2.1 percent.

Basically this told us what we already knew and were feeling.  The real question you should be asking yourself is what can you do?  How can you pump life into your offering plate or your fund raising appeals?  Here are some things to consider.

1.  Compelling Vision Trumps Bad Economy!  I have said this over and over but give your donor base a reason for wanting to support your cause and they will.  Show what you are doing.  Tell your story.   Focus on the wins of your ministry not the needs.  You have to help them see that giving to your ministry is vital, important and self fulfilling for them to know they are making a difference with their gift.

2.  Constantly Communicate With Your Donors.   One mistake that many ministries make is never communicating with their donor base.  While you can over do it for sure you should be regularly giving updates on your ministries activities.  You should be using direct mail, e-mail, websites and every means to tell your story.  I recently counseled a ministry to put a postage paid envelope in every mailing.  Simple advice that will reap them hundreds of dollars in return.

3.  Have a Plan.  I am amazed how many leaders have a plan for growth, a plan for staffing a plan for everything but stewardship.  If you do not have a plan how will you navigate through the challenges ahead of us?

4.  Seek Alternative Paths.  What I mean by this is that you have to try different approaches in how to gain new donors and excite existing donors.  It might mean direct mail for the first time.  It could mean an e-mail campaign.  My point is think creatively.  Don’t just sit back and take what comes.

5.  Cut the Budget.  No one likes to make cut backs.  However it might be the thing needed to keep your ministry afloat.  The tendency is to make budget cuts too late.  If your ministry is more than 25% behind on your budget its time to be realistic.  You will probable not make up that ground.  If you make moves now to get your budget and spending in line it sends a positive sign to your donor base.  Ignoring Rome burning around you will only cause donors to turn somewhere else to donate their money as they will lose confidence in you.

There are a host of things that could be advocated to help you through this time.  My point is simply that you can not sit back and hope things will turn out for you.  Take action now not later.  It might be tough sledding out there but you can make it through this time with smart decisive moves.

Is anyone out there reading this other than my Mom?  From time to time you wonder if you are the only one reading your posts.  Please do me a favor.  If you have found any of my postings helpful pass along this link to others.  This week I will be sitting down with my web designer to take this up a notch.  However word of mouth on the internet is still the most powerful way to get noticed.

Also I would love for you to post your own comments about what you think of my thoughts and ideas you might have.  I would love to see this become a forum for discussion that could spark ideas to help others.  Oh, and while you are at it drop me an email to let me know you appreciate what we are doing.  My email address is Mark@TheCharisGroup.org

Blessings,

Mark Brooks

Today in my local paper in the business section there was an article about charitable giving being slightly down this year.  One interesting note is that they stated that giving to religion is still the number one category but that it accounted for 33.4% of all charitable giving down from the 56% it held in the mid-1980’s.  You can blame that on the economy but in truth Americans find money to spend on what really matters to them.

I am devising a new set of economic barometers to measure the potential for stewardship.  All you hear about is how people are cutting back and that is true.  You might well be feeling that at the offering plate.  However the money you are missing might just be going to keep the family dog groomed and pampered.  Consider my new index for gaging the strength of our economy.

The Pet Index - Americans last year spent $41 billion dollars on their furry friends.  That amount is estimated to go up to over $43 billion this year.  63% of Americans have pets.  While I don’t advocate starving Fefe or Fido I do think we have gone a bit crazy with all the pampering of our pets.  Ask your members how much they spend on their pets as opposed to how much they give to your ministry.  Which is the better investment?

The Candy Index - I was amazed by an article the other day that talked about candy as being inflation proof.  Americans spent $29.1 billion on candy in 2007 and the estimates are that it will go over the $30 billion mark this year.  When your offering plate is empty your donors might have a Snickers hidden in their purse!

The Fast Food Index - In 2004 the fast food industry reported sales of almost $230 billion!   Look at the breakdown by chains below:

Below is a list of the world’s leading public fast food companies and their 2006 revenues. Headquarter locations are shown in brackets.

1. McDonalds (Oak Brook, Illinois) … US$21.6 billion in 2006 revenues
2. Yum! Brands including KFC (Louisville, Kentucky) … $9.6 billion
3. Starbucks (Seattle, Washington) … $7.8 billion
4. Darden Restaurants (Orlando, Florida) … $5.6 billion
5. Brinker International (Dallas, Texas) … $4.2 billion
6. Wendy’s (Dublin, Ohio) … $2.5 billion
7. Burger King (Miami, Florida) … $2.1 billion
8. Domino’s Pizza (Ann Arbor, Michigan) … $1.6 billion
9. Applebee’s International (Overland Park, Kansas) … $1.3 billion

If your offering plate is empty I wonder if your donors will eat at Mickey D’s on the way home?  As I have been saying you will know we are in a bind economically when your local McDonald’s is boarded up.

The Entertainment Index - Americans spent $10.8 billion on movies.  This summer your members are lining up to see The Hulk on Saturday night and passing the plate by without putting money in because the economy is hurting them financially.  Consider also that Americans spend $11.6 billion on video games and $10.6 billion on music.  This does not count cable or other forms of entertainment to keep us amused.

The Recreation Index -  Membership to health clubs in 2007  increased 5% to bring their total to $18.5 billion.  While I could not find one set dollar amount for how much we spend on travel, tourism, park fees, bowling, softball and other recreational pursuits like hunting and fishing you can bet it would boast the total even higher.

So, you tell me, how bad are we hurting?  The real question is what do you do with these facts?  First I would not hammer your people over the head with them.  I might share them as a point of interest and point out that all of us have items in our budget that can be adjusted so that we can continue to give towards causes that have eternal value.  More importantly I would share with them the positive things your ministry is doing and how their gift can make a difference.  People want to give to something that will make a difference.  Show them what your ministry is doing and how their dollar can help and they just might skip Mickey D’s to donate to your cause.

Mark Brooks

To read past editions of The Stewardship Coach my monthly e-zine go to www.TheCharisGroup.org

My home page is the Drudge Report.  From there I can get the headlines hours before the papers or other news outlets.  You can also get some interesting articles.  This past weekend I clicked on one that read giving up by 1%.  Then I found another article linked to that one that said Conservatives are more generous.  Being one, that really got my attention.  You can find the article here at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinions/3154919.cms#top0

It quotes an upcoming book by Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks who is no relation of mine, called,  “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism.”  It is set to come out this November after the election which I find interesting.  The basic premise of his book and findings is that liberals talk about causes but don’t give to them while Conservatives are more generous.

Here is a lengthy passage from the article I listed above.  “The book’s basic findings are that conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans, by any measure. Conversely, secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs give far less to charity. They want everyone’s tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don’t provide them with enough money. Such an attitude, he writes, not only shortchanges the nonprofits but also diminishes the positive fallout of giving, including personal health, wealth and happiness for the donor and overall economic growth. All of this, he said, he backs up with statistical analysis. “These are not the sort of conclusions I ever thought I would reach when I started looking at charitable giving in graduate school, 10 years ago,” he writes in the introduction. “I have to admit I probably would have hated what I have to say in this book.” Still, he says it forcefully, pointing out that liberals give less than conservatives in every way imaginable, including volunteer hours and donated blood.”

So, I can’t wait to get my hands on this book.  I only wish it was coming out sooner before the election cycle where one party always talks about who compassionate they are.  Now we know the truth!

Mark Brooks

Today’s blog headline was a headline in our Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Business section this past Saturday.  It was written by Neil Irwin of the Washington Post.  It would be worth looking up.  I have always laughed at the old saying, “Perception is a cruel form of reality.”  That could have been the headline of this article.

The article focused on how though our economy is challenged it is not where it was in the recession of 1982-83, 1990 or 2001.  Yet when you ask Americans what is the number one issue they will say the economy.  There are some that are making comparisons to the Great Depression!

Irwin makes a great case that the economy though soft is nowhere near what it was in the last two recessions of 1990 and 2001.  What has changed is people’s perception.  That perception is driving consumers to be more cautious with their spending a factor that could indeed plunge us further into economic despair.  The article was interesting reading into the mind of Americans.  However for we in the Christian community what does it mean?

Here are some thoughts…

If a chose is to be made between taking Jr. to Disneyland or giving your ministry a tithe Jr. will be the one happy not your finance chair.  I think you can say that Americans are feeling this pinch.  However, they are still driving and buying Mickie D’s hamburgers and taking vacations.  Sadly what is at stake in the budget crunch may be your ministries offering.

Seeker Sensitive churches will feel the current economic pinch much greater than more traditional evangelical churches.  One thing that many seeker friendly churches pride themselves on is never talking about money.  So, if that is you, get ready for the fact that since you never teach on stewardship your stewards will be less faithful.  If you start talking about it now they will see through your motivation and judge you even harsher than before.  It may be that you simply have to adjust what you are planning until things turn around.  Then teach stewardship in a positive way to avoid this happening again to you.

Preach stewardship regularly and offer stewardship help beyond the platform.  George Barna has proven that if you preach on stewardship more you will receive more funds.  Build integrity into your ministry and message and you can safely deal with any subject as long as your listeners know you have their best at heart not simply your budget.  While you are at it provide real help for your members like a debt reduction program.  It might not benefit you today but it will sow seeds for the future.

Don’t panic!  I am amazed at how many Christian leaders are pulling back on projects they badly need because they fear this economy.  I think that is a huge mistake.  Now is not the time to be overly conservative.  The key issue is do you really need that facility or not?  Can you cast that need compellingly?  If so your donors will give to it.

Have some passion!  I have worked with Christian leaders who made debt reduction so exciting that you thought paying off that multi million dollar debt would hasten the return of Christ.  I have also worked with others that could not get excited about their new relocation to save their lives.  Guess what?  The passion of one was transferred to the results of his church.  The lack of passion by the other showed up in the results of his campaign.  Here is a thought, believe with passion in what you communicate.  It can and will make a difference.

Is the economy soft?  Very much so.  However remember to keep this in context.  Remind your leaders of the facts then preach it to the congregation.  Have a plan to work through this present challenging time and a plan to avoid panic the next downward cycle of the economy for there will be another one in a few years.  Remember Joseph?

Please check out our web page www.TheCharisGroup.org for more information about how we can help you and your ministry.

Mark Brooks

Very little of what I learned in college and seminary do I still use to this day.  In fact I used very little of what I learned at all.  Apart from my preaching classes I can think of little that was taught to me that helped me in the ministry.  This is particularly true when it comes to stewardship.  I can never remember any class in college or seminary that even addressed this subject.  I will admit that I was not the model student in terms of learning but unless I cut class one day when it was discussed I am drawing a blank on hearing anything taught about the subject.  Yet without stewardship none of the dreams and visions that we have for our ministries will ever get off the ground.

What are we to do?  We can complain to the administrations of our schools but good luck there.  Half way through my D Min. program when it was apparent that my desire to focus on stewardship did not fit their model my professor told me that perhaps I needed to find another seminary.  That was convenient for them as I had just paid the balance of what was owed for the entire program.  So, there is no Dr. in front of my name.  I am fine with that in that my opinion is that you can call me Doctor Brooks when I can write you a perscription for some drugs!

In actuality if you were like me you had to learn the things you really needed in ministry on your own.  I attended conferences and read books in the areas that I felt I had a need and where my training was lacking.  More often than not I learned what I learned from the school of hard knocks.  Yet there were some rays of light along the way for me.

One person that I read and still read is George Barna.  I am continually amazed at his research on giving and his thoughts about what he discovered.  His 1997 book “How To Increase Giving In Your Church” is a must read.  After all these years when I dust it off and pick it back up I am amazed at what great advice it contains.  If you have not read it I would highly recommend it.  In fact just buy anything he writes on stewardship.  I would also encourage you to go to his web site www.barna.org and sign up for his monthly newsletter.  While it does not deal exclusively with stewardship it will give you a good feel for what is going on in America.

I would like to think that the reason you come here to this blog is to find help for the issues that you face.  That is my desire with this.  Hopefully more than just my Mom frequent these pages and find them helpful.  It is a sad reality at times that most of what we truly learn in life is learned outside the classroom.

If your classroom training in stewardship is lacking like mine was drop me a line I would love to help.

Mark Brooks

You can find out more about The Charis Group by going to our website at www.TheCharisGroup.org

I have been joking that for the first time in my life instead of first reading the sports pages I am now reading the business section.  It could be that college football is still about six weeks away and reading about who got arrested last night and will thus be kicked off the team does not excite me.  Still I have found that it is essential to what I do that I am up to speed on what is being said in the business world.  With the challenges that we face today with our economy it pays to be as much in the know as possible.

Still if you are like me and the degrees hanging on your wall say something like Master of Divinity, Doctor of Theology or some other religious variation anything economic could well buffalo you.  Let’s talk about parsing the Greek instead of analyzing the stock market and we are more comfortable.  Well, ok, I can’t parse Greek verbs any longer.  Not that I could in my theological prime.  You get the point though, we need to know things that they just did not teach us in Bible college and Seminary.  So, here are some things that I commonly look for as I read the business section.

The daily market report.  There is more that I don’t know about the Stock Market than what I do know.  I do know however that its ups and downs reflect the confidence or lack of confidence in the way things are going.  Its up when indicators look good.  It goes down when bad news hits the business world.  For instance when oil goes up the stock market usually goes down.  That is a huge over simplification so let me further break down what this means.

For most of us we don’t invest openly in stocks but in our 401K.  I monitor it to some degree but I don’t base all my business upon what it does or does not do.  I am in it for the long haul.  However, in raising funds those that have the capacity to give large donations are very much tied to the market.  In fact their gift might indeed be a stock gift.  Stock that last year might have been worth hundreds of dollars a share today might be worth half that.  So, I watch the market to know how my top end donors might be affected.

Articles on the price of crude oil.  Of late what is driving the market and much of our economics is the price of oil.  This is impacting the value of the dollar.  Again the higher the price of crude the more negative this impacts our economy.  Ultimately this gets reflecting even more so in our day to day lives than the typical fluctuations of the stock market.  You are now paying about double for a gallon of gas.  The airlines are hitting us with every kind of charge they can think of to recoup their high priced jet fuel.  For most of your donor base this does have an impact.  You must have your finger on the pulse of how this is impacting your donations.

As for where it will all end you can find opinions all across the board on this.   For instance last Friday in my paper the business section interviewed two supposed experts in the oil industry.  While they agreed a many things there was a wide range of opinion on others.  The bottom line is that no one really knows where this is all heading.

Articles on the housing industry.   The housing crisis is in part a readjustment from an overly inflated values.  If you live in places like Southern California then you know that the price of a medium home was way out of line.  So the market is adjusting.  The tough thing is that many will be hurt by this.  Foreclosures will continue to grab the headlines as people were over extended hoping the value of their home would go up when in actuality it went down.  Also in most markets there is more inventory than demand.  Building has slowed and it does not look as if it will pick up until late this year or early next year.  This has a ripple effect throughout our economy.

Articles about jobless claims.  I watch this particularly in areas where we have clients.  The unemployment rate is a key indicator of how things are going and what to look for in the future.  Even with the challenges of the present economy we are still well below the unemployment rates of the early 1980’s.  It is however something to keep your eye upon.  The other thing I look for here is what sectors of the economy is laying off people.  I have some clients that the base of their donors are in the medical arena and thus fairly economic proof.  Others in Michigan are tied directly to the decline of the auto industry.  The economy in your community is often directly driven by whatever major industry is present.  It pays to know the health of the business sector in your area.

Articles about retail spending.  I pay attention to where people are spending their money.  In Friday’s business section there was an article about May’s retail sales rising more than was expected.  One other area where I watch spending is at the movies.  When people still have money to spend seeing Harrison Ford do things no 60 year old could really do while eating butter laden pop corn then I know they have money that could be donated to my client’s causes.  Keep your eyes on the spending habits of your donors.  When the McDonald’s down the street closes its doors then you have a real legitimate cause for concern.

All of the above would make a trained economist probable laugh.  Yet my point is not that you become some economic expert but simply that you avail yourself of good intelligence.  We have wonderful outlets on the internet and through print that can give us great advice on how to move forward through this challenging time.  It might indeed be worth your while to first check out the business section before you see how your favorite team did last night.  After all my team the Oklahoma Sooners are 75 days away from opening day against a very tough Chattanooga.  Don’t laugh we need something to wipe away the pain of the last two bowls games!

Mark Brooks

If you are not utilizing the internet and email to garner donations to your ministry you may be missing out!  “The Chronicle of Philanthropy” in their June 12th issues reports that donations from internet based appeals are increasing.  Consider the following Christian ministries…

Campus Crusade raised $10,000,000 in 2006 and $33,000,000 in 2007 for a 230% increase!

Christian and Missionary Alliance raised $423,007 in 2006 and $656,488 in 2007 for a 55% increase.

Young Life raised $4,929,494 in 2006 and $4,600,00 in 2007 for a 34.5% increase.

They did this through direct emails.  What is amazing is that Campus Crusade saw their significant raise in dollars from 2006 to 2007 after they rented a list for a Christian company.  These people were not even in their data base to begin with and they gave to the ministry.  What could you do with those that are already members of your church or ministry?

So here are some thoughts…

1. Begin now to build an email data base if you have not already.  I had a church of 2,500 in attendance pass down each row a tablet for members to record their emails upon.  Now on all registration there is a place for attendee’s and members to give their email addresses.

2.  Develop a plan of action to use those emails effectively.  The American Society for the Cruelty to Animals in New York began a campaign asking members to give them their email addresses.  The first email message after that was sent to thank them for signing up and inform them of ways they could help including sending a donation.  The next three messages were more explicit requests for donations.  That plan might not work for you but have some plan of action.

3.  Initiate online giving through your ministries website.  If you have not already you should have a way in which members can get online to make their donations.  I would particularly do this in the colder regions of our country during the winter.  Let’s say that big storm hits on Saturday night and the services on Sunday are canceled.  If you have an email data base and can utilize it to drive people to your online giving then you might not take quite the loss in offerings.

4.  Go beyond the current web technologies to embrace the cutting edge.  Sadly most of the time we in the Christian world are behind the times.  The web and email are nearing a saturation point.  You may want to invest in social networking sites, text messaging and other online tools to help you raise funds.

5.  Whatever you do diversify!  Never put all your eggs into one basket.  That is good advice in investing and its good advice for Christian ministries.  You should have a diversified approach to raising funds that encompasses both traditional and non traditional methods.

Whatever you do just do it!  Jesus said, “You have not because you ask not.”  Too often that is true for Christian ministries.  We are afraid of offending so we don’t ask.  You can be sure that the American Society for the Cruelty to Animals is not afraid of asking.  You have a message and ministry that is eternally impacting.  So, step up to the plate and ask!  Just use every tool available.

Mark Brooks

To find out more about The Charis Group check out our website at www.TheCharisGroup.org

This past week my wife and I were in Italy on vacation.  I emptied the Delta account to get the tickets but it was well worth it to enjoy this fascinating country.  The beauty of the country and its history make it a must see.  There are some lessons for us there too.

85% of Italians consider themselves Catholic.  On every corner there is a Catholic church.  In one town we were in there were four on the same square!  However, on any given Sunday they are nearly empty.  The aged seem to be the only ones that go with any sense of frequency.  The church for most Italians is irrelevant.  Instead of vibrant places of worship and Christian training most have become museums filled with beautiful art and the bones of those long since dead.

Christianity is always one generation away from extinction.  Growing up my pastor Tom Elliff would always make that statement.  Going to Italy you can see how true the statement is.  At some point along the way the church has become less and less important to Italians.  They hold the treasures of the past with little or no hope for the future.

Vision and passion keeps your ministry alive and people coming back.  How sad that even though our faith never losses its vibrancy or relevancy churches can become nothing more than museums to the past.  If you think this could never happen to your ministry look around your neighborhood.  Are there churches that have less than full parking lots?  Is attendance declining?  Does the median age go up each year?  We can never take for granted that these things will not happen to us.  At some point long ago the church in Italy became irrelevant in the minds of many.  Your vision, given to yo by God, is the instrument upon which to keep the dust from collecting around you.

Your vision must be clear, concise and most of all compelling!  The three C’s to Vision Alignment are the key to keeping your ministry vital and towards raising the needed funds.  Donors want to know that their money is making a difference not funding a museum.

Yesterday’s vision will not suffice for today’s challenges.  Too many ministries have a vision that is never updated or kept current.  While your overall purpose might be the same how that purpose is achieved always changes.  The fresh restatement of that vision keeps your members and donors engaged in what you are attempting to achieve.  The more engaged they are the more they will be willing to donate!

We can help!  In my experience most stewardship campaigns that fail do so from the very beginning as a result of a vision that is not properly aligned.  We at The Charis Group are experts in helping you properly align your vision to achieve success.  To find out more about us go to www.TheCharisGroup.org

Working together with you we can help you avoid simply being a curator of a museum to the past!

Keep dreaming for the Kingdom!

Mark Brooks