Why Don’t People Give More? Understanding the Barriers to Generosity

Stewardship Leader Podcast

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Why don't people give more? Is it simply because they can't afford to, or are there deeper barriers keeping people from growing in generosity? In this episode of the Stewardship Leader Podcast, Leo Sabo continues his conversation with Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research to examine what the data reveals about generosity. They discuss financial capacity, why people dramatically overestimate the percentage of income they give, whether charitable giving competes with church giving, and the real reasons people say they aren't more generous. The conversation concludes with an important challenge for church leaders: generosity is part of lifelong discipleship, and helping people grow may mean guiding them toward faithful, achievable next steps rather than simply presenting an end goal.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Key Takeaways </p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><strong>Most donors aren't giving out of financial hardship.</strong> Only 6% describe their giving as a significant financial sacrifice, while four out of ten say it involves no sacrifice at all.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Higher income doesn't automatically produce greater generosity. When generosity is measured as a percentage of income, the differences between income groups are surprisingly small.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><strong>People understand their giving in dollars much better than percentages.</strong> This creates a significant challenge when churches talk about tithing because tithing is inherently percentage-based.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">People substantially overestimate their generosity when asked to express their giving as a percentage of household income.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Four out of ten American donors believe they should be giving more than they currently do.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><strong>Giving to charities doesn't generally cannibalize giving to the local church.</strong> Ron's research shows the opposite pattern: people who are more generous to charity tend to be more generous to their churches as well.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Generosity is more than making a financial transaction. Prayer, volunteering, advocacy, and engagement with the organizations we support can all be part of actively participating in generosity.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">For people who believe they should give more, the largest barrier isn't necessarily income—<strong>it's uncertainty about their financial future</strong>.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Other barriers include difficulty trusting organizations, uncertainty about whether a gift will make a difference, simply not thinking about giving, and acknowledging the need to learn greater generosity.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Churches need to communicate the <strong>why behind giving</strong>—including how resources are being used and the impact generosity is making.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Generosity cannot be effectively taught in isolation through an occasional sermon series or class. It is an outgrowth of spiritual maturity and needs to be incorporated into ongoing discipleship.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><strong>Parents have tremendous influence on future generosity.</strong> Adults who frequently saw their parents give to a place of worship as children are 238% more likely to give to one themselves.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Churches should consider how they're helping parents model and discuss generosity with their children rather than unintentionally removing children from opportunities to observe giving.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">For someone currently giving 1%, being told simply to give 10% can feel unreachable. Helping people identify their current reality and take a faithful next step may be a more effective discipleship approach.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><strong>Generosity is a lifelong discipleship journey.</strong> The role of spiritual leaders is to help people continue taking steps toward greater trust, maturity, and faithfulness.</p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Resources</p><p class="" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grey Matter Research - <a href="http://greymatteresearch.com">greymatteresearch.com</a><br />Connect with Ron Sellers - <a href="mailto:ron@greymatterresearch.com">ron@greymatterresearch.com</a><br /><br />Become a CSN member - <a href="https://membership.christianstewardshipnetwork.com/" target="_blank">https://membership.christianstewardshipnetwork.com/</a><br />Learn about the Christian Stewardship Network<a href="https://stewardologypodcast.com"> - https://www.chri</a><a href="https://www.christianstewardshipnetwork.com/">stianstewardshipnetwork.com/</a></p><p class="" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></p><p class="" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><strong><em>Are you a pastor or church leader?</em></strong></p><p class="" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><em>At Christian Stewardship Network, we are passionate about teaching the biblical perspective on finances so that you can teach your church with authority, confidence, and integrity. Our network is a group of passionate Christ-followers with a burden to teach and equip God's people in stewardship and generosity. </em><a href="https://mailchi.mp/christianstewardshipnetwork.com/signup" target="_blank"><em>Sign up for our mailing list</em></a><em> to get new content directly to your inbox! </em></p><p class="" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://membership.christianstewardshipnetwork.com/" target="_blank"><em>Become a member of our network</em></a><em> to access our entire library of online courses, participate in monthly network calls, and more! </em></p><p class="" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><em>CSN is a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Help us reach more churches with the message of stewardship and generosity. </em><a href="https://www.christianstewardshipnetwork.com/give"><em>Support our mission through giving.</em></a></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><strong>Browse our online resources</strong></p>

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