In this Issue:

• What Resources are Needed to Support Leaders on Shifting Ground?
• Expanded Perspective—Reimagining Theological Models of Giving for Contemporary Faith Communities
• New Report: Post-Pandemic Financial Landscape of U.S. Congregations
• Elevate Your Faith-Based Fundraising Skills

By David P. King, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Lynn, Ph.D.

In early June, Lake Institute hosted a special conversation on “the state of the field of faith and giving.” We brought together fifty leaders of religious networks and institutions, organized philanthropy, donor associations, higher education, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector to talk about the “Big Picture” or “30,000 foot view” of changes in faith and giving in American society today—the kind of view provided in the most recent Giving USA report—and explore what these changes mean on the ground.

In our previous Insights piece, we summarized many of the key themes from that two-day conversation. While the diverse group of leaders we brought together accepted the basic premise of the 30,000-foot view—namely, that faith and giving and associational life are shifting in significant and related ways—they warmly emphasized the need to respond in four ways:

1. Start talking in wider circles about what is happening.
2. Focus on the significant differences in how different communities are experiencing changes.
3. Feel the urgency to act, even if action takes time, and
4. Innovate, starting with the hyperlocal while drawing in philanthropy, government, and others as new partners for the work.

Today, we turn our attention to three kinds of resources that these leaders told us they need in order to make these crucial turns on the shifting ground of faith and giving today.

More about the Why of Giving

Across sectors, these leaders want help in better understanding not just how donors give today, but why they give.

To be clear, leaders value data reflecting trends at both the local and 30,000-foot level. Trends in the use of digital giving platforms and pledge campaigns are important to note; so too, are patterns of decline in affiliation, attendance, and membership. But underneath these trends lies a larger question: In attending to what is happening, equally important is why are these changes occurring?

In synthesizing the “why” questions that leaders raised, they were eager to better understand a growing distrust in institutions, discern how to articulate the mission/vision of faith communities outside their walls, share and pass down traditions of generosity between generations, and consider what giving means when a commitment to duty and obligation rings less true compared to engagement with particular passions and causes.

Some answers to the “why of giving” might come from fields such as psychology and sociology. For example:

• What motivates generosity in a life of faith, such that the religiously affiliated give more than the unaffiliated?
• What mental models inform and inspire giving today?
• How are religious givers formed to give?

But leaders also sought more resources for theological reflection that can connect giving and stewardship to economics, spiritual practices, and the nature of communities— both in congregations and broader communities well. The questions that emerged focused on issues such as:

• What theological models inform and inspire giving today—and for whom?
• Who is my neighbor and what does that mean?
• What does our theological anthropology tell us about what we owe to others, and to which others?
• What are the emerging theologies of money and theologies of giving that we can think and talk about with one another?

While silence and anxiety have too often predominated when religious leaders consider questions of money, the tone among leaders now seems to indicate that this is changing, as questions of money and giving are not as often segmented off from larger questions of economic well-being, justice, and the flourishing of our communities. The pressing question then seems to be how to encourage leaders across multiple sectors to employ their theological imaginations to ask broader questions and develop the tools and resources necessary to bring these theological traditions to bear on our practice.

Research that is Accessible and Context-Specific

When asked what kinds of research could best serve their constituents, these leaders emphasized that, in addition to the overarching landscape of faith-based organizations and the nonprofit sector, there is an additional need for accessible and context-specific materials. New research might take the form of case studies, interviews, and other qualitative data that looks at what is going on in local communities from the ground up. The big picture matters, but so do the individual stories.

Even more than new research, however, participants emphasized the need for access and appropriate translation. What is needed is to take existing resources and add contextualization, they told us. Make this information more accessible and empower its use by religious practitioners. In essence, the stories matter, but so does the storytelling. As Lake Institute Associate Director Meredith McNabb noted, “A good story builds connection, sparks imagination, and creates space for people to see themselves in the story.” Providing leaders a full complement of stories and empowering them to share these stories throughout their communities is vital.

As a bridge between research and practice, Lake Institute strives for this translation, and we hope to further cultivate partnerships that cross religious traditions as well as broader sectors, grounded in a shared focus on these big what, how, and why questions.

Intermediary Relationships…and a Shared Vocabulary

Key to empowering the use of all these resources is the role of intermediaries—people who can help faith leaders put resources into play in their own context. Participants mentioned the need for embedded coaches; trusted advisors; partnerships that are deeply relational and that cross sectors and denominations, as well as bridge builders between business leaders and faith communities to work together on affordable housing. Too often, faith leaders and leaders across sectors remarked that they felt their work was siloed off from these larger conversations, and perhaps they only had a limited picture of both the challenges and opportunities.

What became even clearer, as we reflected upon the state of the field of faith and giving, was that we will have to move beyond existing siloes to address today’s pressing questions. At the same time, there was renewed energy and excitement to find ways to work together. The challenge, again, is empowering leaders to see themselves as intermediaries able to make connections and see beyond their particular contexts.

Finally, to build these relationships, a shared, cohesive vocabulary across sectors is needed. When addressing faith and giving, sometimes we can either fall into abstractions or a specialized vocabulary that might prove difficult for others to find their way into. Working together to ask ourselves what we mean by the words we use, and how to make sense of our many frameworks across the multiple sectors in which we seek to operate is another important step.

What could be a Field-Changer?

In closing, we asked the gathered leaders to name something that, if it were to happen, could change the whole field of faith and giving (a question we recommend you use to spark conversation in your own place and way).

Responses underscored the central themes we have outlined here and in our previous Insights piece. Participants emphasized the urgent need and opportunity to rethink the role of the congregation in the community as well as reconsider why giving is important in a life of faith—two deeply intertwined topics that should be taken up together, not separately. At their intersection, these themes emphasized the importance of equipping faith leaders and their organizations to do this crucial work through re-aligned education, research, and conversation.

Again, in the months to come, we hope to meet the need for resources by attending to the why of giving, expanding the research and resources that we can share with leaders, and helping connect and empower intermediaries eager to work across sectors and silos.

Amidst the constant challenges, the future is bright for engaging the state of the field of faith and giving. Lake Institute is excited to be focused on this work, and we hope you will join us along the way.