Most of us are familiar with the 80/20 rule: the idea that a small percentage of participants often account for a large percentage of the results.
In the church, this pattern frequently appears in our finances. A relatively small number of households often provides a significant percentage of a congregation’s annual pledge income. In some churches it may be the top 20 percent of givers; in others, the concentration may be even greater.
This is not a problem to be solved by asking less of our most generous members. They are the faithful stewards whose generosity has sustained the church, often for many years.
But it does raise an important question:
What can we learn about the other 80 percent?
One of the most valuable stewardship exercises a vestry can undertake is a simple analysis of the church’s pledge distribution. Take a list of all pledges, arrange them from highest to lowest, and look for the natural patterns and groupings that emerge.
This analysis can be done completely anonymously. There is no need to provide names or identify individual donors; simply reviewing a list of pledge amounts from highest to lowest can tell a surprisingly powerful story about your congregation’s culture of generosity.
Behind every number is a household with its own journey of faith, gratitude, and generosity. The purpose of this exercise is not to judge those numbers, but to better understand how a congregation can invite people to grow.
What does the data reveal? Are there large clusters of households giving at certain levels? Are there natural “steps” where a giving ladder or “step up” chart might encourage households to consider the next level of commitment?
For example, a church may discover that it has a large group of households giving between $1,000 and $1,500 annually. What would happen if some of those households prayerfully considered moving to $2,000? Or perhaps there is a group giving $3,000–$4,500 that may be ready to take another step. The impact of many households moving modestly can be significant…and make a church less dependent on the small number of larger donor households at the top.
Growing in generosity
This kind of analysis helps shift the stewardship conversation from “How do we find a few people who will give more?” to “How do we invite more people to grow in generosity?”
The goal is not to shrink the faithful 20 percent. The goal is to grow the other 80 percent.
If you’ve never looked at your church’s pledge distribution in this way, I encourage you to do so. The exercise can be eye-opening, and it does not require sharing any confidential donor information. Anonymous pledge data is all that is needed to identify patterns, uncover opportunities, and begin thinking more strategically about stewardship.
If you would like to explore what your own pledge data may be telling you, I would be happy to spend a few minutes with you, either in person or over Zoom, reviewing your anonymous pledge distribution and sharing observations.
Sometimes an outside perspective can be especially valuable. Someone who is not immersed in the day-to-day life of your congregation may see different patterns, ask different questions, or suggest new ways to communicate these insights with your vestry and stewardship leaders.
Together, we can think about practical next steps, whether that means developing a customized giving chart, creating more meaningful conversations around generosity, or identifying other approaches that may strengthen your church’s stewardship efforts.
Sometimes the most helpful insights are already sitting in your pledge records. You just need to look at the story the numbers are telling.
