‘God loves a cheerful giver’: Survey of charitable donations links giving to happiness

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV)

Citing the “high inflation” that created “tight household budgets” during 2023 when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were running America’s economy and spending schemes, the American Bible Society noted that fewer people gave to charities, dropping from 68% of the public in 2022 to 59%.

The online report said total giving was up 1.9% during the year, failing to keep up with the rate of inflation of 4.1%.

Individuals contributed about two-thirds of the total which likely was impacted by “mixed economy realities … more jobs and higher wages allowing some to give more, but high inflation creating tight household budgets and keeping others from giving at all.”

The survey is based on what givers actually report on their own activities, and the organization explained “exactly half say they gave $700 or less, and half say $700 or more.”

And those who are “engaged” with the Bible give more often and more dollars, the report said. Where 43% of the “disengaged” gave anything to charity during 2023, 94% of those “engaged” with the Scripture did.

Among those “engaged,” 71% said they gave at least $1,000 and one in six said they gave at least $10,000.

From among the “disengaged,” there was a zero-dollar median, as 57% gave nothing.

The community of those “engaged” with Scripture gave 64% of their donations to their church, with another 21% going to other religious causes.

The assessment categorized people as non-Christian, “nominals,” “casuals,” and “practicing Christians” and explained the median giving for those groups was $0, $30, $600 and $2,000.

“We recognize that many non-Christians donate to their religious communities, and many of them support non-religious charities. But, as a group, they donate the least,” the report said.

Fifty-two percent of the practicing Christians gave between $1,000 and $9,999.

“Evangelicals lead the way in average amount donated, percentage of people donating, and percentage given to their church or any religious charity. Only one-fifth of them (20%) do not give at all. And while most of their donations support religious causes (75%, with 59% going to their church), that leaves a quarter of their contributions to support non-religious charities. Two out of five evangelicals (40%) give all their charitable contributions to their church,” the report said.

Among evangelicals, the median giving was $900 and the mean level was $4,590.

There was a further, rather startling, revelation:

“Nonprofits naturally look first to the top-line dollars donated, but God looks at the heart. And giving proportions may be a better window there. Those blessed with great wealth often give from their surplus. It takes a deeper commitment to give sacrificially. Our survey shows that donors at the lowest income levels give the greatest percentage of their income to church or charity,” the report said.

“Giving exceeds 10 percent of income only at income levels under $20,000 a year. As income increases to $30k, $40k, and $50k, the percentage of giving decreases, dropping to little more than 5 percent. But then, in that ‘middle income’ region of $50k to $100k, the percentages rise, only to plummet to the lowest proportion of all (2.9%) in the $100k–$150k income range.

“Keep in mind that this is all about the income and giving of households, not individuals. Remember also that this includes all charitable giving, not just Christians giving to Christian causes. And these are percentages of donating households. … While these figures reflect a proportion of income, they do not take accumulated wealth into account. Many older folks receive fixed incomes while living on (and giving from) their savings and retirement accounts.”

The report added, “So, in terms of proportions, do Practicing Christians—who attend church and consider their faith very important—also practice generosity more than others? Yes. Practicing Christians contribute more than 9 percent of their income. Casuals and Nominals give at about half that level. With their commitment to church attendance, it’s no surprise that Practicing Christians direct 87 percent of their donations to religious causes in general (including 72% to their church). While Casuals donate a lower percentage of their income than Nominals do, they are far more likely to support religious causes (70%) and specifically their church (56%).”

And, the report said, while there are many influences on happiness, it found, “At every level of giving, those who gave more had higher satisfaction scores. Could that just reflect the wealth they had to begin with? Are richer people more satisfied with their lives? Maybe, but there’s more to that story.”

It explained, “We broke down the scores by four income quadrants and, as you might expect, the Happiness & Life Satisfaction score increases with greater household income. Yet in each quadrant, we see givers far outpacing non-givers. The lowest satisfaction score (5.2) comes among non-givers in the poorest households, making less than $30,000 a year. But givers at that same income level have a satisfaction score of 6.5, rivaling non-givers making up to $100,000.

“You might say the joy of giving is better than getting a $50,000 raise. We really don’t want to quantify it like that, because the joy of giving is worth infinitely more than any dollar amount.

“Ultimately, this chapter is not about money. It’s about the miracle of generosity in people’s hearts. In closing, we offer another number. Among Bible Users—a group that includes anyone who connects with Scripture on their own at least three or four times a year—eight out of nine (88%) agree that interacting with the Bible makes them ‘more generous with their time, energy, and financial resources.’ In the Bible, we meet the God who loves us, and we learn to love others. We meet a God of grace and generosity, who shares those traits with us. That is why we at American Bible Society continue to promote, facilitate, and track Bible engagement and its powerful effects.”