Generosity is Growing — And That’s Good News For Churches
Source: Horizons Stewardship
Giving USA—the most trusted and long-standing source of charitable giving data in the U.S.—has just released its Annual Report on Philanthropy, which paints a picture that every church leader needs to see.
There is reason to celebrate: Total charitable giving rose from $557 billion to $592.5 billion from 2023 to 2024, driven by robust giving from individuals. However, beneath these encouraging headlines lies a more complex reality—one with significant implications for the future of church funding and generosity.
Trends Identified in the 2025 Giving USA Study
1. Total Charitable Giving Grew Significantly
Total charitable giving grew significantly in 2024, reaching $592.5 billion—a clear sign that generosity remains strong across the U.S.
Individual giving rose by 5.1% after adjusting for inflation, underscoring the continued power of personal conviction and connection in fueling generosity. Yet not all sources of giving followed the same upward trend. Foundation giving dipped slightly by 0.5%, and bequests fell by 4.4%, signaling potential shifts in long-term planning and legacy giving. Meanwhile, corporate giving saw a 6% increase, reflecting a small but growing role for business leaders in shaping the charitable landscape.
Wise leadership begins with clarity, which means understanding not just how much giving is happening, but also where it's coming from. As momentum grows in individual and corporate giving, it slips in foundations and bequests. Churches and faith-based nonprofits must adjust their strategies accordingly, engaging givers with purpose to build a more sustainable and fully funded future.
Inflation-Adjusted Changes In Sources of Giving
2. Giving to Churches Increased, but It Does Not Go as Far...
Giving to religion increased by 1.9 percent in 2024 to $146.54 billion, but purchasing power still declined by one percent when inflation is taken into account.
Churches saw a 1.9% increase in giving in 2024, totaling $146.54 billion. That's encouraging news. But when you factor in inflation, that increase translates to a 1% decline in real purchasing power. In other words, your church may have received more dollars, but those dollars do not stretch as far in ministry as they did the year before.
This is a critical moment for church leaders. It's essential to measure both giving and spending power in inflation-adjusted dollars, because that's what truly reflects your ministry's capacity. It's easy to celebrate an increase in giving, but if inflation outpaces it, you may be losing ground. For example, individual household giving rose by 10.4% from 2022 to 2024, but once adjusted for inflation, the real growth was only 3%.
Similarly, giving to religion increased by 2.8% over the last two years, but inflation erased those gains, resulting in a 4.1% decline in actual purchasing power. That means churches in 2024 could only fund 96.9% of what they could in 2022. There is good news: The rate of decline is slowing, from a 3.1% drop in 2023 to just 1% in 2024. It's right to celebrate generosity, but as ministry demands grow, we must also ensure the resources are keeping pace.
Best Practice: Always use inflation-adjusted figures when discussing ministry funding with your leaders and when communicating with your church.
It provides a more accurate picture of what you can accomplish with the funds received, helping people see the actual impact of their giving.
Horizons Next Level Generosity Discovery Assessments in churches of all sizes have recorded two other concerning trends:
Most of the ministry funding comes from a shrinking number of givers. In many churches, 5-10% of households provide two-thirds of all ministry funding.
Givers over 70 often contribute a disproportionate percent of ministry funding—this is most common in smaller churches and denominational churches.
Best Practice: Create household giving dashboards.
Sample Rolling 12-Month Cycle
Next Level Best Practice: Track generational giving.
To gain deeper insight into your church's financial health, track both the percentage of givers and the percentage of total giving from each age group. This dual-metric approach helps leaders:
Evaluate how effectively your ministry is engaging each generation
Design targeted discipleship and outreach efforts, like age-specific small groups
Identify long-term sustainability risks in your giving base
Giving By Age Range
3. Churches' Share of Total Giving Hits a 40-Year Low… Again…
The Church's share of overall giving has dropped to a historic low, falling from 63% in 1983 to just 23% today.
Religious giving reached $146.54 billion in 2024 (23% of total charitable giving), representing a dramatic decline from 63% of total giving in 1983. Overall charitable giving increased by 6.3%, while religious giving rose by only 1.9%. Four of the other eight giving sectors reached all-time highs as givers shifted away from their local churches to other nonprofits.
Increasingly, churches do not hold the top spot in people's giving priorities. Today's churchgoers increasingly view their church as one option among many worthy causes competing for their generosity.
Churches must now clearly communicate two essential messages:
To demonstrate this, Churches must boldly share the story of how they transform lives and communities through the gospel. People are still giving generously, but they're choosing organizations that:
Giving isn't just about meeting budgets—it's about inviting people to participate in God's mission. When we frame generosity this way, we move its transformative power in the hearts and lives of God’s people.
There are almost 2 million charitable organizations (including other churches) that the people of God’s church can support. The number of nonprofits seeking support from your givers continues to grow, increasing from 1,052,495 in 2013 to over 1.5 million in 2024. Churches have a unique advantage over these charities—they build community with most of their givers through meaningful interactions in worship, small groups, Sunday school, serving opportunities, and more. Church leaders must see each gathering as an opportunity to connect generosity with spiritual growth. People will discover the joy of generosity when we clearly communicate what God is doing in our churches and invite them to pray about what God is asking them to do. This is not a moment for cloudy communication. Demonstrate how their giving makes a difference, link their generosity to spiritual growth, and challenge them to take a meaningful next step in faith.
4. American Giving Remains Resilient in the Good and Bad Times
Individual giving as a share of disposable personal income (after-tax income) has remained remarkably stable over the past forty years, averaging around 2%, despite fluctuations in the economy, never rising above 2.3% or dropping below 1.8%.
The same is true when comparing giving to gross domestic product (the value of all goods and services created in the U.S.). It too has remained at a nearly consistent 2% for over forty years, never falling below 1.6% or rising above 2.1%.
As church leaders, we must understand that we are not facing a giving problem, but a problem with giving to the church.
Far too often, fear of economic uncertainty paralyzes us. This scarcity mindset causes us to pull back from the very movements of God's Spirit, calling the church to follow Jesus in chaotic times. The Bible encourages people in times of uncertainty over 100 times: "Do not be Afraid."
The truth is clear: whether in good times or bad, giving remains remarkably steady. Too often, leaders lose sight of this fact and God's encouragement to be courageous rather than fearful. If we allow fear and anxiety to hold us back from courageously embracing our mission, those who call our church home won't stop giving—they will simply direct their generosity elsewhere, toward something that challenges them to rise and be part of something vibrant and life-changing. It is time for the church to base its communication on a message that invites people to give not out of guilt or fear, but because they see their generosity fueling a mission that is worth their whole heart and life.