Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

Recovering Christian Stewardship from Secular Fundraising 97
year, the average contribution to charity by African-Americans was
$658. 46 While fundraisers may point to the fact that white residents
gave an average of $1,174, 47 the Church should take note that the
majority of donations by African-Americans and Hispanics are
directed to religious causes 48 —not only because the Church is the
beneficiary of this generosity, but because as Christians we have a
moral obligation to help dispel age-old biases that have discounted
the real contribution of these communities. The truth is that the
disparity in the level of giving relates not only to relative income (a
smaller gift may well be a more generous one), but to the fact that
no one asked. Sadly, and too often, these ethnic groups are not even
invited to participate in philanthropy because of an unworthy and
untested assumption that they would not. In fact, however, when
asked, Hispanics gave and volunteered as generously as non-
Hispanics, and demonstrated an increase in volunteer participation
from 40% in 1995, to 46% in 1998. When asked, Hispanics are just
as likely to volunteer as white people. 49
Ethnicity is not the only factor that is generally overlooked in
the pursuit of major gifts (and charitable giving in general, for that
matter). As previously noted, religious practices and attendance at
worship are primary factors in philanthropic generosity. Nearly all
donations by Southerners and “born again” Christians, for instance,
are given in the pews. 50
The issue of evangelical giving patterns, particularly as this
relates to the tithe, provides an interesting sidebar. To be sure,
evangelical Christians are disproportionately generous when
46 Independent Sector, “The Demographics of Household Contributors and
Volunteers,” Giving and Volunteering (1999).
47 Ibid.
48 Jennifer Lach, “Divine Interventions,” American Demographics Magazine,
June, 2000.
49 Diaz, “Hispanic Giving and Volunteering,” Giving and Volunteering, 1998.
50 Lach, Idem.