Amounts in donation boxes are declining as the cost of living
continues to rise
By Jessica Thy Nguyen Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy – The giving spirit of the Gilroy community is on a decline, at least if measured by the amount of dollar bills placed in the donation box this year.
Ever-increasing fuel costs, the high price of buying a home, and the overall cost of living in the Bay Area, are just some of the reason local pastors say they’ve seen a decrease in contributions.
Senior Pastor Malcolm Macphail of New Hope Community Church on Muraoka Drive said there’s been a lessening of the economy’s momentum during the last year and living costs have affected the overall economy of the area.
“We’ve noticed probably at least a 5 percent drop in [donations] almost every month compared to the same time last year,” Pastor Macphail said. “We probably increased our output for [giving] more money away by helping other organizations and missionaries. We always want to give the same if not more, and that caused a deficit for us.”
As for the increased cost of living, Pastor Ron Koch of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd on Hecker Pass Highway said he believes the community’s mentality also affects contributions.
“I think our culture really demands that people have a lot of stuff and young people especially are encouraged to have a big house, big car, lots of stuff,” Pastor Koch said. “There’s a kind of credit card mentality that ‘you get it now and pay for it later.’ There’s a lot of credit card debt, houses are huge, there’s a turn down in the economy and when a job is lost, those are things you have to do. Church donations are at the bottom of a discretionary spending list,” he said.
Inflation has affected the amount of donation, according to statistics from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. National donation rates increased by 5 percent in 2005, but did not keep up with inflation-adjusted giving and amounts have fallen below the record set in 2001.
With the money they receive, many of the local parishes donate to other organizations, so their budget gets tighter and tighter.
“Special donations are given for tsunami relief. Churches do a lot. They contribute to hospitals, old people homes, and youth centers,” Pastor Koch said. “People forget, charitable work [is] what churches do.”
St. Joseph’s Family Center, a non-profit organization that operates with the help of church donations and community donations as well, has seen the effects.
“If we look at the overall year [the economy] definitely has impacted us somewhat,” David Cox said, director at St. Joseph’s. “People have been curious about donor fatigue, what with Katrina and the tsunamis and other things like that.”
At First Baptist Church on Wren Avenue there might be another reason why donations are lower. Lori Clark, secretary at First Baptist, said that they’ve been without a pastor for almost a year. Clark said she thinks that might be one of the main reasons why giving to the church has declined.
For the two churches that haven’t experienced a decrease in their contributions, the pastors attribute the fact to their parish and their strong faith in God.
“We believe that God guides, God provides,” Senior Pastor Matt Valencia of Calvary Church Chapel on Monterey Street said. “It’s not my job to be a fundraiser so whichever ministry God wants to provide for he will do so.”
The Gilroy Bible Church on Broadway also is strongly supported by their parish.
“As a church we’ve been pretty consistent based on our relationship with God and he provides everything we need,” Pastor Kevin Wilson said. “The people at this church have found in general what Jesus said ‘It’s better to give than to receive’ and [our] needs have always been provided.”
