Charitable Giving by Religious Groups Exceeds That of Firms

Charitable giving by religious organizations is greater than that of either private foundations or corporations and totals at least $8.5 billion a year, the Council on Foundations said Saturday.

In addition, religious philanthropy increasingly is targeted to social change, a study by the council said.

According to the survey, religious groups in 1983 gave away at least $7.5 billion at the national and regional level of organization. In addition, recent studies suggest that giving by churches at the congregational level is in excess of $1 billion a year.

James Joseph, president of the Council on Foundations, said the figures probably are conservative.

“My estimate is that religious philanthropy totals $15 billion or $16 billion annually,” he said. “Through religious philanthropy every conceivable need in society is being addressed, from soup kitchens in urban areas to making films about social justice, from building wells in the Sudan to emergency food aid in Ethiopia.” The $7.5 billion contrasts with $3.1 billion in charitable giving by corporations and $3.46 billion by foundations in 1983.

The council also said donated labor from religious groups and their volunteers totals “hundreds of millions of dollars” and if “these invisible dollars were added to the visible ones, our $7.5 billion total could easily double.”

The study was based on a survey of 2,700 religious organizations, of which 485 responded.

The survey also found that large numbers of religious organizations are changing their funding patterns to reflect an increased emphasis on “redeeming society.”

Fully half of the Roman Catholic and interdenominational groups surveyed and one third of the Episcopalian, Jewish, Lutheran and Methodist groups reported such a focus with the top three priorities peace, justice and women’s issues. The “overriding concern was peace,” the report said.