Decentralization and the Changing Face of Generosity

What’s of more interest to me right now is not the technology of De-Fi, blockchains, and the growing assortment of cryptocurrencies, but the cultural shift we are experiencing toward decentralization and how it affects our churches and generosity as a whole.

The rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum has been fueled by the desire of individuals to manage wealth and value without banks, brokers, and the government always being in the middle. In the world of generosity, what I have noticed is a similar movement by donors away from institutions that act as “brokers” for charitable work and compassion toward decentralized options that allow donors to be more involved in those good works.

My parents were of a generation who gave to the church in the conviction that the church was the best institution to manage their charitable giving. Their generation is passing on to glory, and many church leaders are bemoaning that rising generations are not giving in the same way that generation gave, which I’m sure is true in many circumstances. It is a mistake to assume that the difference is an indicator that rising generations are less generous. That is not necessarily the case.

What intrigues me is whether the same generation that is fueling the world of decentralized finance is choosing instead to participate in a decentralized world of generosity. Perhaps what they are seeking is an experience of generosity not brokered by institutions or government, but which they can experience in the first person. Perhaps what they desire is to get closer to the action.

• The number of nonprofit organizations doing charitable work and seeking charitable donations to support that work increased twenty percent in the last ten years.
• The online tool GoFundMe, launched in 2008, is a crowdsourcing platform that allows users to launch their own campaigns for a variety of causes: financial aid for a family with large medical bills, money to assist young people to pay for school expenses; aid for victims of natural disasters in emergencies (the platform has raised more than $10 billion through 130 million donations).
• Foundations have seen a growing interest in donor-advised funds (bringing donors closer in to any gifts that are awarded). The world of philanthropy has also seen growing interest in private family foundations.

How should churches respond to this movement toward decentralized generosity? I would like to offer churches five ideas to give donors greater contact with their generosity:

1. Strengthen your understanding of your church’s mission.

Encourage your church leaders to review and re-evaluate your church’s mission statement. Is your mission statement inward-focused or outward-focused? A good mission statement should do more than describe who you are; it should answer the question of why you exist. How will you (or others) know if you are succeeding at your mission? How will this world/community be better because your church is in this community?

2. Get more people involved in the mission that engages and mobilizes your community.

What are the needs all around your community – not just the obvious ones, but some of the ones that are better hidden? Raise this question with people who are engaged beyond your local church: local police, schoolteachers, health professionals, and social services folks. Start asking your congregation if they are content with “coming to church” or if they would rather “be the church” in the community? Find some projects that engage people directly: volunteer for some spruce-up work at a park or local school. Sign up to help with a “meals on wheels” program or start one on your own. Start with as many folks as you can sign up and then have those folks talk briefly in church about what they are doing and how good it feels.

3. Document and tell more stories of impact.

Build time into worship to tell the stories of how your church, through the generosity of your people, is making an impact on people’s lives. There are three great sources of these kinds of stories: local stories of how your church is impacting lives; ministries across your annual conference supported by your church’s mission shares or apportionments; and how all United Methodists are making Christ’s love real in so many ways. For more help on finding stories, click here.

4. Develop hands-on missional opportunities.

United Methodists have always looked to volunteers to empower and broaden the church’s missional impact. A tremendously successful program in our United Methodist connectional structure is the Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM). If your church has done UMVIM work in the past, try to get one of those participants to lead a group to find a new project, but be sure to engage some people who have never participated before! If your church has never put together a UMVIM project and team, visit the website to get help with your planning. Be sure to have them document their mission experience with pictures and video to share with the congregation when they return.

5. When possible, connect donors and recipients for expressions of appreciation and support.

Nothing will bring donors closer to the impact of their generosity than a personal expression of thanks and a report on how their gifts are making a difference. Whether it is an email from a scholarship recipient, a video message from a mission project you support, or a handwritten note from a shut-in who was on the receiving end of an act of caring by your congregation – a thank you that says in some form “lives are better because you cared enough to give” may open the door to even greater generosity!

For many congregations, this will be a shift in the way they approach stewardship. It will mean moving from “How do we fund the budget?” to “How do we grow in mission and touch more lives?” It will be a shift from trying to motivate people with numbers to moving people with stories. It will be transitioning from the language of obligation and duty to the language of compassion, community, and hope. It will require new thinking; How do we bring people closer to the impact of their generosity?