Giving in the Midst of Turbulent Times
When you fly, the safety briefing includes an announcement about your seatbelt: even if the seatbelt sign is off, stay buckled up in the event of unexpected turbulence. If you have ever experienced the phenomenon called “clear air turbulence,” you know why they say this. While not expected, the unexpected can, and sometimes does, happen. You will get bounced around, and it will be unpleasant.
I’ve heard from church and nonprofit leaders across Virginia about the significant headwinds and turbulence they are experiencing as expected federal grants are pulled back or cut and as church members lose their public service jobs with the federal government. Services to those most in need in our communities have been disrupted, and church budgets have been affected by decreased giving. There is no doubt that the level of anxiety is high and, right along with that, uncertainty about the future is increasing.
This is the reality for many of our churches and public serving organizations. For church leaders, your emphasis should be on the pastoral care of those experiencing unexpected financial hardship, like losing what seemed like a long-term, stable job. Pray with them and for them. And then, since our Methodist identity is born out of practicality, consider doing some job-hunting legwork. Post on your church website the job boards of states and municipalities and other nonprofit or government-facing job boards. Find a person in your congregation or community who is an excellent resume writer and see if they would be willing to teach a training session on building a resume. Offer meet-ups for those who are job hunting for mutual support. Provide childcare during all of these programs as you are able.
What you should not do is worry about the giving of those who have lost their jobs. This is not fair to them. Admittedly, this advice is hard to follow, because as a pastor you do see the bottom-line financials and know deeply how giving impacts mission. Take some comfort, though, that giving across the board to nonprofits, including religious institutions, continues to increase, with 2024 posting the highest level of inflation adjusted giving in decades. This means that the people in your church and community still value the mission-driven impact of the church serving the world. To learn more, see the Giving USA report for 2025.
Creative Ways to Increase Giving
You can share that the church is able to take gifts of appreciated stock, an easy way for some people to make a gift that is not directly cash and can be beneficial in their tax planning. The Foundation can process those stock gifts for you at no cost. If you’d like to know more about this possibility, reach out to the Foundation (804.521.1121). We can help.
Another practical step includes exploring whether grant funding is available to support any of your ministries. This is a good way to alleviate budget strains by offloading the expense of a program into a grant, even if only for a year or two. Programs focused on the well-being of children and youth are a good example. Look into the grants offered by the Foundation (the open application period is coming soon!) and at the community foundations in your area. You might be surprised by what you find!
At my home church, we have strategically developed our space to maximize its use through counseling tenants and sharing space with a partner church. Rents collected represent 30-40% of our annual income, which enables us to do more within mission-focused work because the fixed building costs are largely covered by that rental income. Investigate whether this is possible for your church.
Overall, as you consider the giving environment of the present moment, focus intentionally on telling the story of the impact of your mission.
Point to the positive work your church or nonprofit is doing right now. Demonstrate over and over again through newsletters, social media posts, billboards, blogs, podcasts, and so forth why it matters, why it is important, and the positive difference your church and public-serving programs are making in the lives of people in your community.
Consider the feeding stories about Jesus. We like to think of them as wonderful proclamations of the miraculous work of Jesus as the Christ. Additionally, from my perspective, these are also stories about faith in the gracious provisions of God and God’s people. The disciples exclaimed, “There is not enough! Too much turbulence!!!” And yet the people responded with an abundance.
By the Rev. Matthew W. Charlton, PhD
VP of Philanthropy & Development
