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All adherents to the Judeo-Christian tradition agree on the goal of generous charitable giving. They agree that their scriptures are filled with references to, and lessons about, Economics. They agree also that the Old Testament standard was the literal "tithe" or ten percent of gross income, and that the New Testament standard is more; that the Old Testament tithe should be a minimum, and that in addition to this, we should also make "offerings" on an as-needed basis, or as we feel so moved.
Meanwhile, according to the Urban Institute's National Center for Charitable Statistics, average charitable giving as a percentage of reported gross income in the United States has been around two percent, confronting us with at least an eight-point discrepancy - a probable cause of stress for all concerned.
We know also that this two percent is an average. That means some give more, others give less, and that generally speaking, we would be fairly safe to assume that Economist Vilfredo Pareto's 80/20 Rule applies to church finance: most of the money used to finance churches comes from a minority of its members - a minority who get to enjoy the good feeling of attaining the goal.
What sort of world would we live in if more people could be stress-free and enjoy that good feeling? We at Making End$ Meet believe it would be a very pleasant and blessed one. Accordingly, we propose to help create such a world.
Here is how we propose to do it:
Meanwhile, according to the Urban Institute's National Center for Charitable Statistics, average charitable giving as a percentage of reported gross income in the United States has been around two percent, confronting us with at least an eight-point discrepancy - a probable cause of stress for all concerned.
We know also that this two percent is an average. That means some give more, others give less, and that generally speaking, we would be fairly safe to assume that Economist Vilfredo Pareto's 80/20 Rule applies to church finance: most of the money used to finance churches comes from a minority of its members - a minority who get to enjoy the good feeling of attaining the goal.
What sort of world would we live in if more people could be stress-free and enjoy that good feeling? We at Making End$ Meet believe it would be a very pleasant and blessed one. Accordingly, we propose to help create such a world.
Here is how we propose to do it:
- Give a Lifetime Savings Plan to any member who wants one.
- Conduct group workshops, financed by free-will offerings, at churches about budgeting and accounting with an emphasis on budgeting to tithe.
- Assist individuals on request, as needed, with compassion and without judgment.
- For members needing to improve their income, arrange and mediate mentoring relationships with other members who are skilled and experienced at innovating and negotiating income (i.e. the minority who have probably been bearing most of the financial burden in the past).
- Build trust by educating clergy, laity, boards, and committees about Economics, Accounting, financial statements, and financial transparency. Assist church staff as needed preparing complete, accurate, and regular financial reports.
- Clarify vision by helping church leaders express goals clearly to members and to each other in terms of time and money. In this way, members can feel confident knowing their contributions will be used deliberately and wisely, and can understand clearly compelling reasons to give.
- Assist decision-making bodies by interpreting results, answering questions, and recommending future action.
- In the same way that it occurs in fully functional nuclear families, foster a culture of economic literacy, competence, accountability, transparency, and honesty in the church family. By experiencing this example in the church family, more nuclear families can then learn themselves how to become fully functional.
- Bless future generations with a legacy of wise stewardship habits and strong, healthy, sustainable churches.
