In this Issue:

• • Giving USA 2025: Trends in Religious Giving
  • The Power of Good Data
  • Explore ECRF Scholarship Opportunities
  • Webinar: The Latest Trends in Giving to Religion

By Erica Dollhopf, Ph.D., Associate Director of Research 

The 2025 edition of Giving USA provides updated information on current trends across giving sectors, including giving to religious organizations. Researched and written by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU Indianapolis and published by the Giving USA Foundation, the report has provided comprehensive information on charitable giving in the U.S. for the past 40 years. Religion is one of the major subsectors studied in Giving USA, which includes congregations, denominations, religious media, and missionary societies, though it excludes religiously motivated or inspired organizations that are operating in a different sector.  

The study found that, overall, giving in 2024 increased 6.3% (3.3% adjusted for inflation). All nine major subsectors of charitable giving saw an increase when measured in current dollars, but when adjusted for inflation, giving to religion decreased slightly and was the only sector to see a decline. Giving to religion in 2024 was estimated at $146.54 billion, representing a 1.9% increase that translated to a 1% decrease when adjusted for inflation. While religious organizations continue to receive the most giving across subsectors, the proportion of giving directed toward religion has continued to gradually decline. While religion had 34% of total giving in 2011, it is only 23% in 2024. One of the factors underlying this trend is the slower growth of religious giving relative to other sectors. For instance, total giving from 2022-2024 increased 8.7% while giving to religion only increased 2.8%. 

Several factors may be influencing these trends. First, the rates of identification and participation in religious groups have gradually declined in the U.S., as noted across several studies. In one example, a 2024 PRRI study found that the proportion of U.S. adults identifying as religiously unaffiliated grew from 21% to 26% between 2013 and 2023, while all other major religious categories declined. In another example, Gallup found that Americans less frequently identify as a member of a religious congregation, dropping from 70% in 1999 to 45% in 2023 – notably the rate was 73% in 1937, so the steepest declines have been more recent.  

Additionally, religiously involved people are giving less in some cases. The 2024 annual report from MortarStone found in a survey of churches that median giving per household declined from $910 in 2021 to $600 in 2024; however the median increased by 47% in the same period among the top 1% of givers. Even when congregations’ income is increasing, the increases may not be enough to offset inflation. The Finances and Faith report from the Faith Communities Today (FACT) and Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) surveys found that while median congregational income increased from $150,000 to $165,000 since 2010, congregational income would need to have reached $209,603 in 2023 to stay on pace with inflation.  

Many of these findings point to challenges, but there are also hopeful shifts in the religious giving landscape. The Giving USA Foundation’s Giving by Generations Report found that Millennial giving per household, which increased 22% in 2024, has surpassed Gen X giving. In addition, Millennials report attending religious services more frequently than Gen X. This may ultimately result in the younger Millennials giving more generously to religious organizations than the older generation. Also, some congregations experiencing membership decline alongside increased building costs are finding innovative ways to be engaged with their communities and leverage un- or under-utilized spaces through affordable housing projects.  

Looking toward the future, religious organizations may be able to pursue strategies to increase giving and perhaps continue to find creative ways to transform buildings, engage in their changing communities, reimagine congregational financial models, and possibly open new avenues for giving. The Finances and Faith report found that congregations offering online giving generally have higher incomes that do not offer online giving, and greater emphases on online giving in a congregation also tends to correspond with higher levels of online giving. Congregations offering online giving rose from one-third to over two-thirds between 2015 and 2023; if congregations can continue to expand electronic and online giving options, they may also be able to experience higher levels of giving among their participants.  

Also, as congregations pursue innovative strategies around their buildings and community presence, through establishing partnerships and new sources of revenue, they may find ways to flourish even in the midst of general declines in religious identification and participation. While the religious giving sector is a smaller slice of the overall giving economy than it had been more than a decade ago, it remains the largest recipient of donations and religious giving continues to be a philanthropic priority for many individuals in the U.S. While the sector will continue to change over time, it remains highly important and a crucial area for future research.