Members give 3%
The median Orthodox household in America gave $2,100 annually to its local parish,
about 3% of its annual income before taxes.
In addition, a typical Orthodox household gave $150 to non-parish Orthodox organizations or causes and $200 to non-Orthodox charities, not-for-profits or social causes.
Converts more generous
Converts to Orthodoxy gave nearly twice as much annually to their parishes as "cradle" Orthodox members when measured in actual dollar amounts ($2,800 versus $ 1,500 median per household) and more than twice as much when donations were measured as a percentage of a household's income (4.9% versus 2.2%).
Older parishioners more generous
T
he study found that older
parishioners gave much more than younger church members.
Households of s
enior citizens (ages 65+) gave 3.3 times more ($4000 versus $1200 median) to their parishes than those of young adults (ages 18-34). Even in terms of percentage of income, senior citizen households gave 1.6 times more than young adult households (4% versus 2.5%).
Low income households more generous
While Orthodox households that earned more money typically
gave
more to their parishes, when measured as a percentage of income, they were less generous than lower income households. Orthodox households earning between $30,000 and $49,999 gave 3.75% of their income (before taxes) to the parish, whereas households in the $90,000 - $109,999 income category gave only 2.5%.
Members give more to mission, vision and spiritual
growth
Parishes that encouraged members to be more generous because it would enhance their church's mission and create more opportunities for spiritual growth received much higher contributions than parishes that asked members to give to meet the various needs of a parish. The annual household contribution in parishes where giving was "mostly about vision for the parish's mission and opportunities for spiritual growth" was $2,400 compared to $1,650 where giving was "mostly about people's responsibility to address the needs of the parish."
Members want to plan regular giving
The practice of the automated transfers of members' contributions from their accounts into parish accounts is virtually non-existent in US Orthodox Churches. Yet, a majority of parishioners (54%) affirm the idea of the monthly automatic transfers for giving to the parish. Remarkably, even among church members who reject in principle the practice of filling out annual giving pledge cards, one-third of these would accept a system of "monthly automatic deposits" from their personal accounts.
Out of various "techniques" that a parish can use to generate greater giving by members, the most efficient approach was being asked to give in person by the clergy. 40% of respondents reported that if they "were personally asked by my parish priest or bishop"they would likely give more.
