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NEWS PROVIDED BY
Infinity Concepts
April 28, 2022
EXPORT, Penn., April 28, 2022 /Christian
Newswire/ -- A new study from Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research
asked evangelical Protestant donors to name their very favorite charity or
ministry to support. Their answers reveal a lot about the giving priorities of
evangelicals.
The findings are detailed in The Favorite Charity: Evangelical Giving
Priorities, a study of over 1,000 American evangelical Protestants that was
released today. As 58% of evangelicals give money to organizations outside of a
local church, the research included 578 active donors and 439 non-donors.
The most startling finding was that despite what they claim, only a minority of
evangelicals actually favor a faith-based organization in their giving.
Eighty-four percent of evangelicals say they prefer supporting Christian
organizations. This includes 52% who prefer to support "organizations that have
their Christian faith as a major part of the work they do," while another 32%
prefer to support "organizations that have a Christian background or perspective
but are not necessarily conducting specifically Christian work."
Despite what they say, only 46% of evangelical donors name a faith-based
organization as their favorite to support. The remaining 54% have a favorite
that is entirely secular.
Although there are over a million different charitable organizations in the US
donors could support, just 19 different brands collectively represent the
favorite organization for 53% of evangelical donors. In fact, the five most
popular brands—St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, The Salvation Army,
American Red Cross, Samaritan's Purse, and UNICEF—are named the favorites of 34%
of all evangelical donors.
Evangelicals also tend to favor very large organizations. The average total Form
990 annual revenues of the organizations favored by evangelicals is $1.07
billion. Just 12% of evangelical donors name a favorite organization with
revenues under $10 million.
Ron Sellers, president of Grey Matter Research, feels many ministry leaders and
strategists need to readjust their thinking. "We have posed some of these same
questions to American donors in general, and we get very similar answers. In
fact, of the 19 favorite organizations of evangelicals, 12 of them are also
among the favorite organizations of American donors overall," Sellers explains.
"We have worked directly with dozens of donor-supported organizations, and all
too often there is an assumption that religious people largely support religious
organizations. In reality, evangelical donors are very similar to other donors.
Many ministry leaders need to broaden their strategic thinking and understand
how entirely secular organizations have made such broad inroads into the
evangelical population. The competition for the donor dollar is much broader and
stronger than some leaders recognize."
Mark Dreistadt, founder and president of Infinity Concepts, notes that what is
concerning about the research results is not that evangelicals support secular
causes and organizations. "Certainly, evangelicals can and should be concerned
about things such as adult literacy, homelessness, or pollution," Dreistadt
says. "But it is noteworthy that so many are making secular organizations their
very top priority, especially when there are solid Christian organizations doing
work similar to some of these secular favorites."
The report also explores which charitable causes evangelical donors prioritize,
the overhead ratios of favorite organizations, and why some evangelicals
actively avoid supporting Christian organizations.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT
For interviews contact:
- Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research:
ron@greymatterresearch.com,
602-684-6294, or
- Darrell Law, Infinity Concepts: darrell@infinityconcepts.com, 724-930-2801
Definition of "Evangelical Protestant"
This study uses the definition of "evangelical" favored by the National
Association of Evangelicals, based on four key spiritual beliefs.
The Authors:
Infinity Concepts has served clients worldwide for 20 years as America's premier
Christian brand communications and fundraising agency.
Grey Matter Research is a marketing research and consumer insights company with
extensive experience serving the charitable and faith-based sectors.
SOURCE Infinity Concepts
CONTACT: Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research, 602-684-6294,
ron@greymatterresearch.com;
Darrell Law, Infinity Concepts, 724-930-2801,
darrell@infinityconcepts.com