Unsurprisingly, church giving on a national scale has taken a hit since the arrival of COVID-19.
In a State of the Plate survey of 1,091 mostly Protestant congregations in 50 states, 65 percent reported a drop in giving, with 34 percent citing declines ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent. About one in five churches reported a decline of nearly 50 percent, and a tenth have seen collections drop by 75 percent or more.
The survey, a nationwide constituency poll promoted by Church Law & Tax and several other church-serving organizations, showed a “much deeper, broader and immediate fall-off-the-cliff experience” than a similar survey conducted 10 years ago in the wake of the Great Recession, said State of the Plate founder Brian Kluth.
He says the major factors for the decline were unemployment compounded by congregations’ continued inability to meet in person.
“The ripple effects throughout the economy are going to be deep and long-term,” Kluth said. “The economic aftershocks will continue through the summer and into the fall. There will be a significant portion of churches that will have financial challenges. You’re going to see churches having to make some hard decisions.”
For United Methodist churches in Florida, the news is brighter.
“Overall, it hasn’t been as bad as predicted,” said Janet Earls, director of church vitality and leadership development for the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church.
While all individual church numbers are not yet in, Earls says her conversations with pastors and staff members around the state indicate that collections are steady at around 75 percent to 95 percent of what was reported pre-coronavirus days.
“Online giving has been a big reason for that,” she said. “If people weren’t doing it already, they stepped up and embraced it. Just like they accepted virtual church as an alternative.”
The area that did take a dive was church giving to the conference.
Conference controller Craig Smelser described the onset of COVID-19 like a tornado — swift, destructive and a lot of cleanup expected in future months.
“We’re down in collections for apportionments by about 25 percent,” he says. “This was easily our most dramatic downturn in 12 years.”
But the conference is finding ways to cover the losses. It is dipping into its reserves to offset the shortfall and funding ministries at a lower level.
“The lesson here is not to let a good crisis go to waste,” Smelser said. “Already we’ve had two blessings out of this — the online presence of the church and the increased embrace of online giving. Now we’re going to have to look at areas where we can be smarter with the resources we have.”
The conference did give churches a break in April, May and June by picking up half the monthly tab for pensions, paid out by the Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits reserves. That’s a forgiven bill they will not have to repay, Smelser says.
The Florida United Methodist Foundation has also helped churches by offering those with Development Fund loans the option of temporarily paying the interest only. As of June 16, 65 churches had taken advantage of the opportunity.
The foundation generally offers the interest-only option after natural disasters, such as hurricanes. But at their March meeting, foundation board members recognized the impact COVID-19 would have on churches and decided the circumstances warranted the same treatment.
“This will offer some immediate relief to those who are in a bind,” said Andy Craske, the foundation’s vice president of loans and investments. “Think of it as a triage situation.”
There are also some unique ways members can help their churches weather the crisis, says Tom Wilkinson, the foundation’s vice president of church relations and new business.
Donors can transfer stocks to their church, which is a charitable entity. The church can then sell the stocks, with no capital gains taxes for the donor. And if the church doesn’t have staff to make those types of transitions, the foundation can do it at no charge.
Donors can also use their IRAs to help their churches and receive a tax benefit, Wilkinson says.
People 70½ and older with traditional IRAs can take up to $100,000 from their IRA and give it to a church or other charitythrough a giving option called the IRA charitable rollover. The transfer isn’t considered income, so it’s tax-free, and it also counts toward any minimum distribution the donor is required to take. The only requirement is that the funds must go directly from the IRA custodian to the beneficiary and not to the IRA owner.
And members can make regular gifts to their church without being at church by setting up a reoccurring automatic debit from a checking or savings account. That ensures the giving will continue during vacations, pandemics and economic downturns. Another benefit of a monthly withdrawal built into the household budget is that it’s less likely to be a burden on the donor.
“Stewardship and giving is about our need to give, not based on the church’s need for money,” Wilkinson says. “And that’s a decision between an individual and God. What is God calling you to give?”
That said, donors must also take unexpected circumstances under consideration, Wilkinson says.
Personal bills and fulfilling family financial obligations must come first. Charitable contributions come after that.
“When financial situations change, such as a job loss or pay cut, that’s a good time to re-examine your spending habits and put your priorities in place,” he says. “The important thing is not to feel guilty if you’re a victim of circumstances. We’re called to be generous with our resources, but if they’re negatively impacted, we have to make wise decisions.”
“Stewardship and giving is about our need to give, not based on the church’s need for money. And that’s a decision between an individual and God. What is God calling you to give?” — Tom Wilkinson
Church financial leaders can also be more proactive to encourage stewardship and prevent lagging collections. United Methodist Discipleship Ministries has developed a list of ideas to help them do that.
The tips include scheduling “giving reminder” emails that are automatically sent to members on Sundays and setting up a coronavirus assistance fund, allowing members not financially impacted by the pandemic to help those in the congregation who are now in need.
Though no one can predict the long-term ramifications of the coronavirus, Earls is encouraged by how United Methodists across the Florida Conference are stepping up and making sacrifices.
“This tells me they care about the church and the work of the church,” she says. “They want to see the ministries of the church continue. Congregations are sharing information and resources to help each other out. We’re going to be stronger and better when we get through this.”
Members who would like more information about charitable giving options, may contact Wilkinson at twilkinson@fumf.org or 863-904-2970, extension 7105.