Nine Reasons People Give

Why do people give? What motivates people to give time, money, and care? The mission enterprise of the church can only fly when we tap into the deepest motivators for all of us.

The pastor of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, Calif., Henry Wells, is featuring a series of pastoral letters on "Nine Reasons Why People Give" in his church newsletters. He's drawing on the work of Dave Sutherland, President of a ministry called InJoy and a friend of Fair Oaks PC. For a mnemonic, Sutherland's nine reasons spell out the word PATRIOTIC. (It's kind of an odd mnemonic, since it has nothing to do with patriotism. But maybe it's so odd it works!)

Those nine reasons people give:

• Passion - They give because they believe in the cause


• Affiliation - They give because they belong to the group


• Tradition - They give because they have a history or practice of giving


• Recognition - They give because they want to be known


• Inspiration - They give because they are captured by the project or the presenter


• Obligation - They give because they feel it's the dutiful or expected thing to do


• Transformation - They give because they want to make a difference


• Invitation - They give because they are invited or asked to give


• Completion - They give because they are fulfilling a commitment

I'm a big believer in invitational giving. When we offer people a way to fulfill their own best yearnings, we free them to give cheerfully and with a gracious and sacrificial attitude for something bigger than themselves. And God is glorified.