Nearly a third of the $US373 billion that Americans donated to charity last year went to religious organisations.
The $US119 billion that was given to churches, religious charities and parachurch ministries is more than went to groups that specialise in education, human services or any other category, according to a report by Giving USA.
But the cost-effectiveness of the religious recipients varies greatly, as does the transparency of their finances.
“Donors should recognise they have a serious responsibility to give as wisely as they can, as it is not their money they are giving but the Lord’s,” said Rusty Leonard, founder and CEO of MinistryWatch, an accountability group.
The final months of the year can generate a quarter or more of a ministry’s annual donations. So how can prospective donors looking to support Christian organisations figure out which ones deliver the most “ministry per dollar”?
Expenses and overhead costs can vary, depending on the organisation’s mission, administrative expenses and the cost of doing business in the areas where they work.
Mr Leonard says donors should do research and “ask tough questions.”
“The world of Christian ministry is lightly regulated,” he said, noting that the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability “exists primarily to help the ministries, not donors. So, without active donor involvement, it is easy for a ministry to go astray.”
~ www.givinginstitute.org/?page=GUSAAnnualReport
For details of an investigation, RNS, with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, carried out into 33 major US-based nonprofit Christian ministries, follow this link.
