Download the Faith Spotlight infographic, or explore the 2024 Philanthropy Pulse report in its entirety.
This Faith Sector Spotlight is adapted from CCS’s 2024 Philanthropy Pulse report to provide an in-depth look at the data provided by 50 survey respondents from that sector.
Respondents representing a congregation, house of worship, or parish constituted the most common (47%) type of survey participant. The four most common religious affiliations included Roman Catholic (57%), Anglican/Episcopal (18%), Jewish (8%), and Presbyterian (8%).
fundraising practices
Just under half (48%) of all religious organizations report revenue increases vs. their prior fiscal year, as compared to 57% across all sectors. The majority (52%) of organizations get 20% or less of their giving in the form of non–cash assets.
Eighty-one percent (81%) of religious institutions achieved 0-20% of their endowment in 2023. Religious institutions might consider leveraging endowment fundraising tactics from the education sector to inform an alternative approach to sustainable funding.
religious institutions’ projections and priorities
Fifty-two percent (52%) of participants expect major and mid-level gifts and annual appeals to increase in 2024. With a renewed focus on digital giving, faith-based organizations might consider highlighting faith-based values in online communications. For example, Jewish synagogues could include a Tzedakah donation page on their website.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of respondents believe DEI is important to define their organization’s values, compared to 77% across sectors.
To support pastoral planning, houses of worship participated in a myriad of staff exercises (below). Religious leadership could leverage our seven steps for planning, implementing, and integrating a visioning workshop at their congregation.
staffing and resourcing in the faith sector
In 2023, 18% of responding organizations increased their fundraising staff, compared to about one-third across sectors. While 68% of all organizations increased staff pay by 1-10% over the past three years, 48% of organizations in this sector saw an increase. In one national survey of Christian institutions, 37% cited staff recruitment and retention as their top challenge. Improved benefits, increased pay, and a focus on staff referrals may help support funding and retaining top talent at your faith institution.
donor acquisition and retention
Sixty-four percent (64%) of organizations indicate that their number of new donors has increased in the past 12 months, as compared to 57% across sectors. Sixty-four percent (64%) of organizations report retaining over half of their new donors over the past 12 months, compared to 67% overall. Faith-based institutions might consider leveraging specialized legacy societies as a powerful donor acquisition and retention tool.
Notably, 66% of Catholic respondents achieved over 80% of their annual stewardship appeal goal. Successful parishes leverage peer-to-peer strategies and archdiocesan resources to ensure an efficient approach to fundraising.
data and technology in the faith sector
Forty-eight percent (48%) of participants describe their organization’s reporting and analytics capabilities at a leading level or higher of sophistication, versus 58% across sectors. While 58% of all organizations have not addressed the use of AI technology in their operations, 70% in this sector have not. Faith institutions could could leverage guiding questions to implement AI in their fundraising practices.
The data on this page was curated from a questionnaire taken by over 600 responding organizations during the fall of 2023, reporting on FY23 results.
