NASHVILLE (BP) – National Cooperative Program giving for January missed the budgeted goal by more than 4 percent, bringing year-to-date totals to 3.6 percent below budget.  

“We are grateful for the generosity of Southern Baptists. Our cooperative ministry depends on it,” said Jonathan Howe, interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. “I pray that as the year continues, our missions and ministries funded through the Cooperative Program will see support rebound so that we can fully resource the ministries and responsibilities tasked to us by Southern Baptists.”

January National Cooperative Program giving:

1. Monthly budgeted amount: $19,521,000.00
2. January 2023 giving: $18,663,565.18
3. Above/below budget: $857,434.82 (4.39) below budget

Total National Cooperative Program giving:

1. Year to date budgeted amount: $66,111,000.00
2. Year to date giving: $63,731,767.02
3. Above/under budget: $2,379,232.98 (3.36 percent) below budget

Designated giving:

1. January giving: $22,337,432.80
2. Year to date giving: $35,037,969.26
3. Previous year to date total: $38,106,075.10
4. Above/below previous year: $3,068,105.84 (8.05 percent) below the previous year

The convention-adopted budget for 2023-2024 is $195,250,000 and includes a $250,000 special priority allocation for the SBC Vision 2025 initiative.

Cooperative Program funds are then disbursed as follows:

• 50.41 percent to international missions through the International Mission Board
• 22.79 percent to North American missions through the North American Mission Board
• 22.16 percent to theological education through the six SBC seminaries and the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives
• 2.99 percent to the SBC operating budget
• 1.65 percent to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

If national CP gifts exceed the budget projection at the end of the fiscal year, the balance of the overage is distributed according to the percentages approved for budgetary distribution. The SBC Executive Committee distributes all CP and designated gifts it receives on a weekly basis to the SBC ministry entities.

CP allocation budget gifts received by the Executive Committee are reported monthly to the executives of the entities of the convention, to the state convention offices, to the state Baptist papers and are posted online at sbc.net/cp.