Nudging church funding
Fundraising involves designing mechanisms through which funds are requested and collected. This matters as donation decisions are inevitably influenced by how the funding ask is presented. A subtle change in the design can nudge a donor to choose differently. For churches, practical concerns of fina...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2026
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| In: |
Theology
Year: 2026, Volume: 129, Issue: 1, Pages: 41-48 |
| Further subjects: | B
Nudges
B behavioural science B church funding |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Fundraising involves designing mechanisms through which funds are requested and collected. This matters as donation decisions are inevitably influenced by how the funding ask is presented. A subtle change in the design can nudge a donor to choose differently. For churches, practical concerns of financial sustainability need to be balanced against the non-monetary implications of funding mechanisms, including theological considerations. This article explores the links between nudges and funding in various contexts – namely, congregational donations, giving technology and worship; pricing access to cathedral sacred space; church taxes and member participation; and the principle of tithing. Concepts from behavioural science including framing, defaults, inertia, anchoring, priming, social influences and mental accounting are used to address these reflections on church funding. |
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| ISSN: | 2044-2696 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0040571X251401162 |
