The economic practices of US congregations: A review of current research and future opportunities

Mundey, Peter; King, David P.; Fulton, Brad R.

doi:10.1177/0037768619852230

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Congregations also vary substantially in their capacity to give to any cause (Mundey et al, 2019). Applying general institutional theories about nonprofit capacity, Smith (1978) suggests that congregations with more resources (staff and infrastructure) are more likely to respond to disasters.…”

Section: Predicting Religious Giving and Volunteering Generallymentioning

confidence: 99%

Giving and going: US congregational participation in disaster response

Gazley

Fulton

Zebrowski

et al. 2022

Nonprofit Mgmnt & Ldrshp

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With the increase in the severity of natural disasters linked to climate change, the role religious congregations play in response is not well known, despite their substantial involvement in general charitable activity. Most disaster response research is event-based, ex post, and not focused on religious institutions or donor capacity considerations. Data from the National Study of Congregational Economic Practices fill this gap. The findings indicate that in 2017, a substantial percentage of US congregations participated in disaster-related charitable giving and volunteering. However, the profiles of participating congregations are nuanced and do not always follow prior theory. A congregation's religious tradition is less predictive than some might expect in the context of disasters. Consistent with open systems theory, we find that congregations' interorganizational networks and their proximity to disaster areas are better predictors of participating in disaster relief efforts. Based on our finding of robust congregational participation in disasters, we call for more integration of religious institutions in nonprofit disaster response research.

show abstract

Section: Predicting Religious Giving and Volunteering Generallymentioning

confidence: 99%

Giving and going: US congregational participation in disaster response

Gazley

Fulton

Zebrowski

et al. 2022

Nonprofit Mgmnt & Ldrshp

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As the pandemic dawned, we recognized the need for qualitative research in this area. Qualitative studies of congregational giving can provide valuable ‘on the ground’ accounts of economic life in congregations (Mundey et al 2019 :409). To this end, we initiated in-depth interviews with congregational leaders to understand the lived experiences of pastors during COVID-19.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Financial Impacts of COVID-19 on United Methodist Churches in North Carolina: A Qualitative Study of Pastors’ Perspectives and Strategies

Eagle

Johnston

Headley

et al. 2022

Review of Religious Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches in the United States were forced to stop meeting in person and move to remote forms of worship and congregational life. This shift likely impacted congregational finances, which are primarily driven by individual donations. Initial research has suggested that there is a great deal of heterogeneity in the financial impact on congregations, but there has been scant research examining how pastors and congregations are managing finances during this period. Purpose This research examines the impact of COVID-19 and its associated restrictions on congregational finances and the strategies pastors used to adapt their church’s finances to the health restrictions. Methods We conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews with 50 pastors in the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church appointed to 70 congregations. Using applied thematic analysis, we analyzed transcripts at both the pastor and congregation-level to identify similarities and differences in financial impact, financial strategies, and pastor experiences during the pandemic. Results Most congregations reported small decreases in giving that were offset by federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and other grants from the denomination. Some congregations, mostly urban and fairly large, reported significant increases in giving, while several other, predominantly small congregations, reported their church’s finances had been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Even in cases where the net impact of the pandemic was small or non-existent, pastors were forced to adopt a host of new strategies to manage finances. In general, small and large congregations experienced and responded to the financial impact of the pandemic very differently.and Implications. Conclusions This research suggests that the pandemic’s impact on congregational finances were more than just on the bottom line. And while most churches weathered the economic challenges without severe impacts, questions remain as to the long-term impact of the pandemic on church finances. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13644-021-00474-x.

show abstract

“…Underlying much of this activity for a substantial subset of the philanthropic field are faith values rooted in religious traditions, institutions, and communities (Fulton & Wood, 2018). American philanthropic and charitable traditions are undergirded by faith values-personal or corporate principles or standards of behavior that are derived from religious texts, traditions, or group norms (Mundey et al, 2019). Many of America's largest foundations-organizations whose primary activity is to raise and distribute funds for charitable purposes-were founded in response to a religiously based concern for the well-being of American society (Davis, 2013;Jungclaus, 2021;Sievers, 2010;Yeager, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faith-Based Public Foundations: Identifying the Field and Assessing Its Impact

Ralph¹,

Fulton²,

Allen³

2022

The Foundation Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Charitable activity is a core tenet of most faith traditions, and many charitable organizations have a religious identity. However, little is known about the prevalence and scale of faith-based foundations, and how they differ from secular foundations. This study identifies the field of public foundations, differentiates between faith-based and secular foundations, and compares their characteristics by analyzing Form 990 data. Our analysis estimates that 24% of all public charities operate as foundations and that 17% of public foundations are faith-based. We use these findings to generate first-ever estimates for the entire field of public foundations. Based on our analysis and calculations using nonprofit sector data, there are approximately 300,000 public foundations in the U.S., and we estimate that 52,000 of them are faith-based. Collectively, these faith-based public foundations have at least $90 billion in assets, and in 2015, they contributed at least $8 billion to charitable causes. Additional analyses comparing faith-based and secular foundations indicate that faith-based foundations tend to be older, have greater revenue and more assets, receive less money from the government, and distribute more money in grants, especially to international causes. This study provides an important lens through which to examine the field of public foundations and better understand similarities and differences among faith-based and secular foundations. It can help scholars analyze relationships between religion and philanthropy, help grantmakers assess foundations through a faith-based-secular grid, and help grantees identify funders who share a similar orientation toward religion. Overall, this study reveals the meaningful presence of faith-based foundations, indicates the scale of their impact, and underscores religion's enduring and significant influence in the philanthropic sector.

show abstract

The economic practices of US congregations: A review of current research and future opportunities

Cited by 11 publications

References 69 publications

Giving and going: US congregational participation in disaster response

Giving and going: US congregational participation in disaster response

The Financial Impacts of COVID-19 on United Methodist Churches in North Carolina: A Qualitative Study of Pastors’ Perspectives and Strategies

Faith-Based Public Foundations: Identifying the Field and Assessing Its Impact

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About