One in three church members gives to the church at the target rate of 5% of after-tax income as urged by General Synod.
Personal commitment, not gender or age, is the key to generosity, reveals CANON DON CARDY, chair of the diocesan budget sub-committee.
For the last few months we've been looking at aspects of Christian Giving. A new guide Giving for Life - Encouraging Generosity in Your Parish which has been commended by General Synod to parishes for prayerful discussion and action.
I've been drawing on results from a survey conducted in 2002/3 in various deaneries and parishes. The survey was completed by over 4,000 members and provided useful information about congregational profiles, some of which I've already reported. An optional question about the percentage of disposable income which individuals gave to their church was answered by over 3000 members. In recent visits to parishes, I've been asked about the results and, based on their experience, parishes have suggested how the age and gender of members could influence things. So this month I'm returning to the original data and extending our previous analysis.
My first chart shows the proportion of males and females giving at each of the % rates used in the survey. A total of 3188 members are included in this analysis; 1,194 males and 1,994 females. It seems there is very little difference between the genders in their patterns of giving; certainly in the 1%, 2%, and 5% plus parts of the profile. However, the sample sizes remind us that our adult membership is around 63% female.
My second chart examines how giving varies with age. 2561 members form the sample but, because they are the most interesting, the results are shown only for half this sample: the 661 members giving at 1% of their income and the 613 members giving at over 5%. Here the differences are quite marked. The proportion of each age group giving at just 1% of income follows a distinct pattern indicating that as members grow older, more give an increased proportion of their income to the church, although not necessarily up to a full 5%. In contrast the proportion of each age group giving at over 5% varies much less: only from 21% to 28% but highest for ages 51 - 70. Amongst the most committed it seems age makes little difference.
Canon Don Cardy
30th November 2009