An update on giving

For those of us who work for churches and non profits, giving and finances are important topics. When you factor in that it's three days before 2009 and the current economic climate, it's no wonder I find myself almost in a daily conversation with a peer, friend, family member, or church member regarding the economy and its affect on churches in general, and Hillcrest in particular. Hillcrest currently operates on a fiscal year, so we won't really know how well we've done budget-wise until April or May, but what we do know about 2008 is that for Hillcresters, it was a very generous year, as Hillcrest has given over $500,000 in 2008. Granted our budget is less than that, but also some of that $500,000 was for projects and ministries outside of the budget (Backpack buddies and the South Africa trip come to mind). Even in the month of December, while giving to Hillcrest's general budget has been down slightly, when you factor in the amount given to the backpack program (which is some $8,000 or over 60 backpacks!) the weekly average is pretty much unchanged.

Certainly many non-profits and churches alike are wondering what 2009 holds and what charitable giving patterns will look like. I know we at Hillcrest wonder about the future holds too, but I try to keep in mind some of my own personal opinions on this matter:

• We can make giving a statement of faith. A recent Christianity Today (CT) report showed that only 21% of evangelicals tithe (give 10% of their income away), and while this is the largest number of a faith group that does tithe, it's still means only 1 in 5 families tithe. And this includes non-profits and other charities. Yikes.
• We can grow in our giving. The recent CT report also demonstrated that there is significant room to grow in giving, and that's just in evangelical homes. The dollar amounts are staggering, but American Evangelicals could tackle some real problems (clean water, education, homelessness) with those additional dollars.
• We can become more patterned in our giving. It's interesting that whenever there's economic woes (whether it's a sagging stock market or $4 a gallon gas) that giving is presumed to drop. What this means is that "Joe the giver" gives what's leftover at the end of the check. I am not writing that those enduring difficult circumstances ought to continue current giving patterns (if you have lost a job, for instance), but it is interesting that these market fluctuations affect our giving.

May we give generously, and sacrificially, during the good times as well as during the not so good times. Also, as an FYI, we hit 200 backpacks yesterday (Sunday) morning! This also means Hillcrest will be writing a check for 100 more backpacks (yes, 300 total) as part of our match. Good stuff.