FRIDAY, JUNE 22: Post-recession America is beginning to open its wallet to charities again, but is not giving as generously to religious institutions.
While charitable donations from individuals rose nearly 4 per cent overall in 2011, according to the annual Giving USA report, donations to houses of worship and other religious bodies dropped by 1.7 per cent — a decrease for the second year in a row.
The report, compiled by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and released Tuesday, shows that individual Americans gave nearly $218 billion last year, $96 billion of which went to religious organizations.
The proportion of the charitable donations going to religious groups has been falling steadily for decades, said Robert Evans, of Giving USA’s editorial review board. Evans offered several reasons for the decline, including increased competition from a proliferating number of non-religious organizations, a decrease in church attendance, and a general lack of sophistication within religious institutions regarding fundraising.
“Clergy in America have not been sufficiently trained as CEO’s of institutions to be comfortable and conversant with contemporary fundraising technology and techniques,” he said.