NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Year-to-date contributions through the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Cooperative Program are 0.81 percent ahead of the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Morris H. Chapman.
As of Jan. 31, the year-to-date total of $68.2 million for Cooperative Program (CP) missions is more than $550,000 ahead of the $67.7 million received at the end of January 2008.
For the month, receipts of $21 million were 16.83 percent, or $3 million, ahead of the nearly $18 million received in January 2008.
Designated giving of $37.9 million for the same year-to-date period is 2.95 percent, or $1.2 million, below gifts of $39 million received at this point last year. The $26.9 million in designated gifts received last month is more than $691,000 below the $27.6 million received in January 2008, a decrease of 2.51 percent.
Month-to-month swings reflect a number of factors, but largely result from the timing of receipts from state conventions. The end-of-month total represents money received by close of business on the last business day of each month.
For the SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget, the year-to-date total of $68.2 million is 99.53 percent of the $68.6 million budgeted to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America. The SBC operates on an Oct. 1-Sept. 30 fiscal year.
During the last fiscal year, Southern Baptists topped the $200-million mark for the third year in a row and overall giving to national causes surpassed the $400-million benchmark for a second straight year.
The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ method of supporting missions and ministry efforts of state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention.