Stewardship on How Married Couples Make Decisions about Charitable Giving

The Christian charity Stewardship recently conducted a survey on how married couples make decisions about charitable giving.

They asked married couples about ‘how they manage their giving together, who they choose to give to and the challenges and opportunities they face when making giving decisions’.

750 married individuals took part in the survey, the majority of whom would define themselves as evangelical Christians.

The full report is available in exchange for an email address here.

The main findings are as follows:

3 out of 4 couples said they make giving decisions together

Most married couples choose to make giving decisions together with just 1 out of 4 respondents reporting that decisions are made by one spouse.

94% of couples agree with their spouse on how much they should give

Only 2% of couples would state that they ‘rarely agree’ on this subject. Money decisions are often considered a divisive issue among couples but giving to charity seems to bring couples together.

68% of respondents said that they thought their giving is set at the right amount

31% of respondents said that they would like to be giving more, with just 1% stating that they would like to be giving less than they do currently.

93% of married couples give to their local church

The most popular type of charitable cause that our survey respondents support is the ‘Local Church’ (694 out of 750 respondents). This is closely followed by ‘International Aid’ and ‘Global Mission’ causes.

Only 1 out of 10 couples said that they have a pre-agreed threshold amount for giving

Of this number, 38% of survey participants said they would discuss with their spouse any donation amount over £50.

60% of respondents said that they are giving more than 10% of their total household income

A further 37% of participants said they give between 1–10% of their income. These figures are above standard UK charitable giving statistics, where the average monthly donation in 2021 was reported to be £411.

As a follow up, Stewardship have also produced a ‘guide to giving for married couples’, which is available in exchange for an email address here.

The four principles outlined are these:

1. Appreciate that you are different

2. Agree on unity and mutual support

3. Pray and bring God into this part of your marriage

4. Take time to talk through the crucial questions

The Accidental Social Entrepreneur

Grant Smith, The Accidental Social Entrepreneur (Edinburgh: Muddy Pearl, 2019).

I was asked to provide a commendation for the above book, and did a long and a short version for the publishers – both are pasted below. In the interests of full disclosure, Grant is a personal friend, but the commendation is from the heart and not out of duty.

Longer version

You’ll hear Grant Smith’s voice in these pages. It’s straight talking, painfully honest, and it’ll make you smile. More than that, you’ll hear his heart. It’s the heart of someone who is comfortable with his own company but who knows the significance of relationships to make things happen. It’s the heart of someone who recognises there are no guaranteed outcomes in business but who goes with a mixture of trust in his gut and faith in God. Above all, it’s the heart of someone who is not only bothered by injustice but is determined to do something about it. Grant does so not primarily by rattling the equivalent of a collection tin, but by seeking to alleviate poverty through business: by building houses, putting boots on feet and hard hats on heads in the process; by paying workers above the minimum wage, allowing them to support their families and pay school fees and medical bills; in a way that’s environmentally responsible and which treats people as made in the image of God rather than as commercial commodities. In an account that’s part business memoir, part theological reflection, part spiritual journey, Grant takes us through his adventures in mechanical sweepers, used petrol pumps, agriculture, and housing. There are perhaps more lows than highs along the way, but shot through it all is the perspective that ‘Christianity is a way of life, not an insurance policy for what comes next’. If that resonates with you, read on.

Shorter version

You’ll hear Grant Smith’s voice in these pages. It’s authentic, honest, and it’ll make you smile. More than that, you’ll hear his heart. It’s the heart of someone who is not only bothered by injustice but is determined to do something about it – through business done well, in a way that makes a social difference but still makes money. In an account that’s part business memoir, part theological reflection, part spiritual journey, Grant takes us through the lows and occasional highs of his adventures, all from the perspective that ‘Christianity is a way of life, not an insurance policy for what comes next’. If that resonates with you, read on.