2024 Church Giving Trends and Insights from 37,000+ Churches
Source: tithe.ly
As a church leader, you spend a fair amount of time thinking about generosity. After all, giving is what keeps the lights on at your church, pays for salaries, and helps you make an impact in the community.
But do you know how people give, when, and how much? How does your church stack up against other churches? How much giving is generated from small gifts vs. large one-time gifts? Are people more likely to give large gifts with credit cards or bank transactions?
You shouldn’t have to guess at the answers. That’s why we conducted our annual Giving Survey. We talked to 37,000+ churches and evaluated over 1 million donors who gave a total of $1.8 billion to get concrete answers to our (and your) questions.
Here are the results–how much, how, and when people are giving to church now.
How Much Are People Giving?
Average Gift Size
Out of 11.5 million gifts, the average gift to churches is $157.
There are a few outsized gifts (ranging in multiples of thousands), and many, many small gifts (under $50) that produce this result. The average gift size doesn’t necessarily reflect the most common gift size, but it does give you an idea of what you can expect from donors when they give.
When we performed this same survey in 2023, the average gift size was $157.90–slightly more than today's. That small dip may reflect the long-term effects of inflation, or it may just be an arbitrary change.
Gift Size Breakdown
Next, we looked at a breakdown of the volume of gifts. In other words, what percentage of gifts are worth more than $1,000? What percentage of gifts are under $50? And what percentage of gifts fall somewhere in between?
More than one-third of gifts are under $50
Nearly one-third of gifts are between $100-$249
Less than 2% of gifts are over $1,000
In other words, the most common gift sizes are under $50 and between $100-$249.
Next, we looked at a breakdown of the value of gifts. If a church brings in an annual income of $100,000 from giving, what percentage of that value is from small gifts–and what percentage is from large gifts?
One-quarter of the value of donations comes from gifts between $100-$249
Nearly one-quarter of the value of donations comes from gifts over $1,000
Under 5% of the value of donations comes from gifts under $50
Even though gifts under $50 are extremely common, they make up less than 5% of the value of all donations. And even though gifts over $1,000 are rare, they make up over one-fifth of the value of all donations.
The lesson? Don’t forget about your large donors. Giving in any form is powerful–and a key part of discipleship to Christ. But gifts over $1,000 still pull far more weight when it comes to increasing your church’s income (and as a result, ability to expand).
Are People Giving Recurring Gifts?
Recurring giving is better. For churches, it produces steady, predictable income that can help with budget forecasting. For donors, it makes generosity simple and convenient. But are both parties taking advantage of this ability? Let’s take a look.
Recurring gifts still make up less than half of all donations given to churches. And the proportion of people who sign up for repeat gifts hasn’t changed much since last year; in 2023, 37.28% of gifts were recurring–a slightly smaller proportion than now.
The lesson? Churches have an opportunity to grow in recurring giving.
Are People Giving by Credit Card or ACH Transaction?
Over one-quarter of all purchases are made with a credit card, and that number rises for higher-income households. Of course, credit card giving also extends to the Church–along with ACH bank transactions.
Next, let’s take a look at how many people give with a credit card versus ACH transaction.
Credit card donations are far more common than ACH bank transactions
However, ACH donations are significantly more valuable; the average ACH transaction is $217 versus $135 for credit cards
It’s not immediately clear why credit card gifts are lower than ACH gifts, or why ACH gifts are less common. It could be that a small number of higher-income donors are more likely to give with a bank transaction.
In any case, it’s helpful to know that many of your donors prefer to give with a credit card. Transaction fees are generally higher for credit card donations, so you may want to encourage donors to give with an ACH transaction.
When Do Donors Give?
What Day of the Week Do Donors Give?
Gone are the days of passing the offering plate during your weekend service and expecting most donations to come in through cash or check. Online giving is more widespread than ever before, and with good reason.
Giving on a desktop computer, mobile phone, or even with a text message makes giving easy and convenient throughout the week…but are people still giving more on Sunday?
More than one-third of all gifts (38.74%) come in on Sunday
Nearly one-third of the value of all gifts comes in on Sunday
Friday is the second most important day for giving in terms of frequency and value
Sunday remains the most critical day for generosity, meaning church leaders shouldn’t forget to deliver a powerful tithes and offerings message. As for the rest of the week, having an easy-to-use, robust online giving platform is critical–making daily generosity a breeze.
What Month Do Donors Give?
It’s equally important to know the time of year that your church members are most generous. Anticipating dips and spikes in giving will help you plan wisely for the coming months (and years).
Nearly 10% of gifts came in December, with just over 10% of the value of gifts generated in the same month
April and October tied in second for the most generous month
Not surprisingly, the holiday season saw the largest increase in giving, with the number of gifts and value of gifts topping the charts in December. Still, the rest of the year remained steadily consistent, with no one month seeing a dramatic dip in giving (despite the belief that summertime sees a decrease in generosity).
Takeaways
Here’s a list of key takeaways from our findings:
The vast majority of gifts are under $249, indicating that only a small percentage of your church members are tithing (unless they are tithing weekly or bi-weekly)
Large gifts are uncommon but enormously valuable to the church, indicating that church leaders may want to focus more on fundraising strategies
Donors and churches still haven’t taken full advantage of the power of recurring giving
Most donors give by credit card, generating higher fees for churches
Sunday stands as the most significant day of the week to give, but not by a large margin
Likewise, December is the most generous month, but not by a hugely significant margin
Regardless of your church size, knowing how, when, and how much people are giving is important. Staying keyed into trends in generosity will help your church set smarter goals, budget better, and make wiser decisions.
Likewise, having a toolset of technology can help your church step into the next season more effectively.