Christian giving with Stewardship grew by 10% to just under £110m in 2022, reflecting a resilient generosity in the face of the cost of living crisis.
Resilient generosity
Our Annual Report 2022 (for the year ended 31 December 2022) tells a powerful story of growth across the board and accelerated impact for God's Kingdom through key strategic partnerships.
2022 saw the end of a four-year period of sustained investment in Stewardship which has resulted in a stronger organisation. Key highlights include:
- Philanthropy Services grew its client base by 29%, driven in part by a growing awareness of our Donor Advised Fund account
- Philanthropy Fund donors, some of whom are benefiting from our pioneering Donor Advisory Board service, gave 26% more than in 2021
- Donations into Stewardship Giving Accounts exceeded £4.2m every month which represented a growth of 4%
- Grants to churches and charities increased by 14% to £82.6m
- Grants to Individual Partners grew by 6% to £15.2m with an average monthly support increase of £300 as a result of Support Raising Training
- 15 new loans to churches and Christian charities totalling £6m
- Our Professional Services team saw a 11% increase in Accounts Examination clients and 4% increase in employers using our Payroll Bureau
In 2022, we also forged a number of key strategic partnerships that helped to leverage significant impact in the following acute areas of need:
- Warm Welcome – we helped to launch this movement of over 3,300 churches and community groups hosting free, warm and welcoming spaces for their communities throughout the winter; we also distributed £200k in Welcome Energy Fund grants to help cover the increased cost of running the spaces
- Ukraine war – we facilitated over £2m in additional funds to partners helping those in Ukraine, and raised a fund of £365k that we distributed through 47 targeted grants
- The Cost of Living fund – we partnered with our givers and philanthropists to raise approximately £100k for charities and churches on the front line of the crisis
We also partnered with Essential Christian to provide strategic fundraising advice as well as their giving platform for Spring Harvest 2022.
Reflections on our Annual Report 2022
“Given the tough economic environment in 2022, we were delighted to witness the resilience and generosity of the Christian community reflected in a very encouraging increase of 10% in giving with Stewardship. We were also able to accelerate our impact for God’s Kingdom through our leadership and partnership opportunities. Active generosity inspired by God is at the heart of all we do so we are incredibly grateful for the growth we saw in our community of givers and partners in 2022.” Stewart McCulloch, CEO, Stewardship
“In a year of challenge, change and growth, we want to acknowledge up front that nothing you read about here [Stewardship’s Annual Report 22/23] could have been achieved without God. It is because of God’s abundant goodness towards us and His amazing grace that we are inspired to live generously; His generosity is at the heart of everything we do.” Chris Gillies, Chair of Trustees, Stewardship
Read our Annual Report 2022
You can read our Annual Report 2022 as an interactive digital publication or you can download it as a pdf.
Interview with UCB2 Radio
Our CEO, Stewart McCulloch, shared his reflections on our Annual Report 2022 in an interview with UCB2 Radio that aired on 20 July.
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Ruth Jackson
Ruth is leading the PR and Communications for Stewardship. She joined Stewardship in April 2022.
She has over 25 years’ marketing communications experience across a range of sectors, including higher education, technology and the arts, both business- and customer-facing.
Ruth worships at C3 Church in Cambridge, where she lives with her husband and two teenage daughters. When she’s not at her desk, you might find her rowing on the River Cam, in a ballet class or out for a walk.
She supports causes that are focused on alleviating global poverty and injustice, with a particular interest in supporting vulnerable children.
