The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) released their first Annual State of Giving Report. Total giving to their member organizations changed imperceptible from 2007 to 2009. From pre-recession year, giving declined a very mild 0.1 percent over two years.
The report also compares changes in giving for ECFA members compared to other public reports for the wider NPO community. Giving to those members of ECFA fared much better in 2009 by comparison.
The report lists changes in giving by sector, which shows a lot of variability. Of note, local churches saw a 2.6% decline, K-12 education a 22.9% decline and rescue missions an 8.6% increase. Most extreme changes by sector are literature publishing down 47.0%, foundations down 28.6%, child sponsorship up 25.7% and media up 25%. That is changes in giving, not changes in revenue, which would include things like tuition and product sales.
The survey is based on 1,148 members, those for whom the 2007 and 2009 data is available. Also, the information is directly from the audited or reviewed financial statements.
Press release is above. Please read the more detailed report.