December 12, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Taking Fundraising Seriously: the Spirit of Faith and Philanthropy
by Dwight F. Burlingame
This spring 2002 installment in the quarterly series New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising is a compilation of papers presented at a symposium on fund raising by and for religious organizations, sponsored in 2001 by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, in Indianapolis.
Dwight F. Burlingame, associate executive director of the Center on Philanthropy and the editor of the volume, writes that, for many people, philanthropy is a way to “put to work their spiritual and moral values.” Consequently, he says, it is important for fund raisers to understand the connection between individuals’ religious beliefs and their willingness to donate time and money.
The eight essays in this collection cover a range of topics and includes, for example, an overview of the references to charitable giving found in religious texts such as the Bible and the Koran; a consideration of religious-oriented social-service organizations through a case study of Habitat for Humanity; and a discussion of the influences of religious counselors and congregations on family grant making.
One of the contributors, Mark Chaves, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, discusses the history of financial support for religious institutions. He calls the financial crisis facing many congregations today an “involvement” crisis similar to one that occurred between World Wars I and II, when donations declined drastically as the numbers of active congregation members sank. He also suggests that President Bush’s effort to channel more government funds to religious groups that provide social services will not significantly increase the number of needy people who get help through religious organizations. According to Mr. Chaves, government grants for human services are typically awarded to institutions with full-time staff members devoted to the administration of programs and a track record of success, which relatively few religious institutions have. Religious groups also face stiff competition, he says, from experienced social-service contractors.
In another essay, Paul G. Schervish and Mary A. O’Herlihy, director and director of publications and research associate, respectively, at the Social Welfare Research Institute, in Boston, describe what they call the “spiritual secret of wealth.” They suggest that some of the more than 100 individuals that they interviewed regard their accumulation of wealth as the product of the “grace of fortune.” These people, they argue, experience their success as a type of “blessing” and their gratitude compels them to engage in philanthropy.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (415) 433-1740 or (888) 378-2537; fax (415) 433-0499 or (888) 481-2665; http://www.josseybass.com; 135 pages; $28.
