WINCHESTER, Va. (ABP) — Faith-based charities haven’t been hit as hard by the economic downturn as expected, a new survey by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability indicates.
The ECFA, established in 1979 to accredit Christian non-profit organizations that model standards of financial accountability, polled members in January to gauge the economy’s impact on charitable giving.
Nationwide, nearly three quarters — 72 percent — of organizations responding to the ECFA said they exceeded, met or came close to their fourth-quarter contribution goals in 2008.
Dan Busby, acting president of ECFA, said many parachurch ministries reported small donations between $10 and $100 were relatively unaffected and in some cases actually increased. Some said with widespread humanitarian concerns related to the recession, ministries that serve the poor believe they will see less impact on giving than other organizations.
That doesn’t mean faith-based charities are immune to the economy. Forty-one percent said they froze or delayed salary increases due to the economic downturn, 38 percent froze or reduced hiring and 18 percent laid off staff. Eleven percent reduced salary levels, while 4 percent moved to four-day work weeks.
A little more than half — 53 percent — said they had cut travel or conference expenses. Thirty percent cut or delayed capital projects, and about a quarter reduced programming, 27 percent; cut consulting fees, 23 percent; postponed or cut back on computer upgrades, 23 percent; or considered outsourcing to save costs and increase efficiency, 22 percent.
About one in 10 said they had considered borrowing from restricted funds or a bank, selling assets or restructuring debt.
Half said they had lost between 15 percent and 30 percent of their investment value, and 17 percent said investment losses topped 30 percent.
More than half — 53 percent — said they had stepped up one-on-one contact with key donors. Smaller percentages reported structural changes like increased partnering at 22 percent, considered merging at 5 percent or planned for the possibility of shutting down at 2 percent.