Independent Sector and the National Council of Churches Conference Call Briefing on Faith and Philanthropy

6/20/2002

From: Carla Bundy or Patricia Nash, 202-467-6100 both of Independent Sector Pat Pattillo or Carol Fouke, 212-870-2227 both of the National Council of Churches

News Advisory:

WHO: Independent Sector and the National Council of Churches

WHAT: Conference Call Briefing on Faith and Philanthropy: The Connection Between Charitable Behavior and Giving to Religion

WHEN: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. (EST)

Independent Sector and the National Council of Churches will hold a preview press briefing via conference call on data from the new report Faith and Philanthropy: The Connection Between Charitable Behavior and Giving to Religion. Report findings measure the depth of involvement of givers to religion throughout the nonprofit sector and compare their giving and volunteering with households that give only to secular causes.

Americans who give to both religious congregations and secular organizations give four times as much as those who give only to secular charities. This giving pattern is extended into the volunteering habits of households that give to religion, where volunteers who regularly attend religious services, 29 percent of all people, account for nearly 70 percent of the hours volunteered each month.

The media is invited to participate in a preview briefing of Faith and Philanthropy with research analysts from Independent Sector and the National Council of Churches. Sara Melendez, president and CEO, Independent Sector, and Robert Edgar, general secretary, the National Council of Churches, will discuss the implications of religious giving and volunteering and how secular nonprofits can maximize the giving potential of these generous donors.

The call-in number for the conference call is 1-800-814-9791. Reporters can call in ten minutes before the 2 p.m. (EST) start time of the briefing. To receive an embargoed copy of the Faith and Philanthropy report, please contact Carla Bundy or Patricia Nash at 202-467-6100 or via email at Carla@IndependentSector.org or Patricia@IndependentSector.org by June 25.

Independent Sector and the National Council of Churches will formally release Faith and Philanthropy at the Carnegie Corporation of New York on June 27, 2002 at 9 a.m. with Harris Wofford, chair of America's Promise, and Reverend Wilson Goode, former Mayor of Philadelphia and director of Public/Private Ventures.