Transcript [00:00] Americans giving less to Charities last [00:03] year that's according to a recent report [00:05] by giving USA and National Religious [00:08] broadcasters otherwise known as nrb in a [00:11] forthcoming report by Infinity Concepts [00:13] in gry matter research finding a decline [00:16] among American evangelicals what's [00:18] causing Americans to hold back and what [00:21] does this mean for the election joining [00:22] me now to discuss the implication of [00:24] these reports is Troy Miller he's the [00:26] president and CEO of the National [00:29] Religious broadcast [00:32] PS Troy Miller thank you so much for [00:34] joining us oh thanks for having me today [00:37] it's great to have you back Troy so [00:38] according to uh the giving USA 2024 [00:42] report total charitable giving fell by I [00:46] believe 2.1% from 2022 to 2023 why do [00:50] you think we're seeing this decline in [00:53] donations well look I think the economy [00:56] the shape of the economy is really [00:58] starting to affect people's [00:59] discretionary giving you know when you [01:01] when your rent is higher your mortgage [01:03] is higher when your food uh is higher [01:06] gas is higher you have to sort of think [01:08] about what's important uh in your life [01:10] and people tend to go to the to the [01:13] Necessities that they survive so I I [01:15] really think the biggest impact right [01:17] now is the economy inflation is really [01:19] hitting households to your point Home [01:21] Depot uh CEO saying that uh you know the [01:25] the lack in in home additions and [01:28] repairs is uh due due to the economy [01:31] potentially uh the report uh that we [01:33] just mentioned also says that about 16% [01:36] of donors said they will be giving Less [01:39] in 2024 due to the election uh is this [01:42] part of a typical pattern that we see [01:44] before an election or could it be [01:46] something else we do see see giving go [01:49] down charitable giving in the in the [01:50] church go down during the election cycle [01:53] people are concerned with uh policies [01:55] that are going to be set but 16% higher [01:58] than the average we normally See It Go [01:59] down somewhere between uh 7 and 10% so [02:03] this is a little bit higher and so I [02:05] think you've got the political cycle on [02:06] top of the economy uh and that's really [02:09] hurting Charities right now and looking [02:11] specifically at Evangelical Christians [02:15] uh in the report the number who gave uh [02:18] the to the church fell from 74% to 61% [02:23] over the last 4 years what do you what [02:26] are you reading into this what are some [02:27] of the factors that could be behind this [02:29] decline [02:30] well that decline I think has a lot to [02:32] do with some of the factors just behind [02:34] the the direction of of the culture in [02:37] general so you match that up with the [02:39] American Bible societies uh that there [02:42] are less people reading their Bibles [02:43] today less people are attending churches [02:46] today uh uh on a on an average basis of [02:49] just one time a week and so those two [02:52] things together along with just a [02:54] society that's really pushing a secular [02:56] message uh I think that's hurting uh the [02:59] churches and hurting giving to the [03:01] churches Americans are divided on [03:04] whether Trump or Harris will help the [03:06] economy and make life more affordable [03:09] how much of the election do you think [03:11] will come down to the economy and what [03:13] do you see as the most effective message [03:15] for either side well I I do think that [03:19] the economy is going to be one of the [03:20] top issues that people are uh concerned [03:23] with I mean from pastors that I talk to [03:25] and Ministry leaders around the country [03:27] that's the number one thing they're [03:29] hearing from uh their audiences out [03:32] there is it's it's all about the economy [03:34] so policies are going to play a key role [03:36] in that I I think at least our surveys [03:38] of what the church thinks about the [03:40] church is very uh uh skeptical about the [03:43] last this current Administration about [03:45] how it's run the economy and has put a [03:47] lot of blame on this so I think they're [03:49] looking for uh somebody who's going to [03:51] do policies that are a lot more [03:53] familyfriendly friendly to the middle [03:55] class uh today and and the message has [03:58] to be look we [04:00] understand uh your hurting and we're [04:02] going to work on this we're going to [04:04] work on energy pricing we're going to [04:05] work on housing pricing we're going to [04:07] work on uh food cost and medical that [04:10] that has to be a message that comes [04:12] across and has to be the most important [04:13] thing the platforms are thinking about [04:16] Troy Miller really appreciate you [04:17] joining us thank you thanks for having [04:19] me
