The trend isn’t promising for charities rooted in faith. The younger Americans are, the less likely they are to embrace organized religion, polls say.
Because of the strong tie between faith and giving, religious nonprofits and congregations have been eagerly courting millennials with secular events and programming.
But some charities have bucked the trend, finding success in addressing young adults’ spirituality head on. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s rapid expansion has boosted it to No. 343 on the Philanthropy 400, thanks to the $80.8 million it raised in fiscal 2015, up 13 percent from the previous year.
Other charities focused on the spiritual lives of millennials and teenagers are also thriving. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (No. 329) saw its giving rise nearly 10 percent in 2015, to $84.7 million. Young Life (No. 104) rose 9 percent, to $243.3 million. Support for Cru (No. 43) climbed almost 4 percent, to $513.7 million.
United Way is pushed from the top rung of The Chronicle’s annual ranking of U.S. charities as a young upstart surges into the lead — signaling big changes for philanthropy. Plus: What drove big gains at some of the year’s notable organizations.
Andrew Ginsberg, vice president for advancement at InterVarsity, has a theory about this growth: “While students are in some ways post-Christian and are sick of organized religion and don’t really like church very much, they are also desperate to figure out what the meaning of life is. And they’re looking for something real and meaningful.”
InterVarsity chapters now report that more than 4,000 college students a year make a first-time profession of faith in Jesus through the organization, double the number from a decade ago. Millennials “would much rather say it that way than ‘be a Christian,’ " Mr. Ginsberg says.
The Pew Research Center reports that 35 percent of millennials claim no religious affiliation. But that, Mr. Ginsberg says, doesn’t necessarily conflict with the enthusiasm InterVarsity has tapped for Christ’s teachings.
Mr. Ginsberg sums up the thinking of his charity’s young members: “I don’t want to be part of a mainline church. But I do want to find out what’s real and change the world, and if Jesus is doing that, I want to be part of that.”
A Test of Tradition
However contemporary its approach to recruiting supporters, InterVarsity recently reminded them of its traditional values.
In July, a letter to employees from the charity’s leadership reiterated its longstanding theological stands on sexuality — including disapproval of premarital sex and same-sex relationships — and asked workers who felt they could not adhere to the policies to voluntarily disclose those conflicts and resign.
Last month, Time magazine wrote about the controversy, including comments by former InterVarsity employees who feared the policy would turn off young supporters.
In the wake of the Time story, InterVarsity’s leadership released a statement noting that LGBT individuals work for the charity. “No InterVarsity employee will be fired for their views on gay marriage,” it stated.
In the week after the Time story ran, the charity lost some donors but also gained some, Mr. Ginsberg says. Compared to ordinary donor turnover rates, he says, the impact isn’t significant.
InterVarsity’s policies are unlikely to have a lasting effect on gifts, says Rick Dunham, a fundraising consultant who specializes in Christian nonprofits.
“I would think their donors are in lockstep” with InterVarsity’s stance on sexuality, he says, noting that its major donors are most likely conservative, evangelical baby boomers.
‘Planting and Building’
Going into the year-end fundraising season, Mr. Dunham believes the charity can benefit most by emphasizing the “good work that they do, the impact they’re having on the lives of youth on college campuses, the ministry they’re delivering with the donor dollar.”
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship — whose U.S. branch was founded in 1941 — just passed a benchmark, topping 1,000 campus chapters. As part of a five-year strategic plan the group launched in 2012, it is opening 15 to 20 new chapters a year, adding up to 40 staff members annually.
The group, based in Madison, Wis., now has about 1,700 employees, up from 1,200 a decade ago. Most of its workers, hired straight out of college, run ministries and stay an average of six years; major-gift fundraisers stay even longer.
The group’s fundraising has grown 4 to 6 percent each of the past five years, says Mr. Ginsberg. In the 2015 fiscal year, support got a bump from its triennial conference, along with the completion of a $50 million capital campaign.
InterVarsity’s fundraising success, he says, can also be attributed to its focus on donor stewardship.
“We endeavor to be the best in thanking our donors,” he says. “Most nonprofits are pretty poor at that. They’re better at treating people like ATMs.”
Though Mr. Ginsberg expects a “tepid” fundraising climate for the rest of 2016, InterVarsity’s long-term forecast calls for more “planting and building,” starting new chapters and growing existing ones.
“We think we know how to take a chapter of 20 college students and turn it into 100 now,” he says.
