NASHVILLE (BP) — Total fiscal year giving for 2023-2024 was just over $191 million, falling a little more than 2% below the goal of $195,250,000.

“We are grateful Southern Baptists gave more than $191 million through the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Cooperative Program (CP) budget,” SBC Executive Committee (EC) President Jeff Iorg told Baptist Press. 

“Given national economic uncertainties and internal denominational challenges, this was a remarkable year of steadfast giving by our churches,” he said. “Missionaries, seminary students, church planters and a host of other need-meeting ministries were sustained by this generous giving.”

Iorg believes Southern Baptists will continue to give faithfully through the Cooperative Program as they begin the new budget year.

“As we press forward, my hope is enhancing confidence in national denominational efforts will motivate churches to begin increasing the percentage of undesignated receipts given through the Cooperative Program,” he said. 

In a recent message to the SBC Executive Committee, Iorg pointed out many of the positive impacts Southern Baptists are making through their cooperative work through state conventions, international missions, church planting and seminary education.

“The Cooperative Program is the financial means for us to be a global force for good,” Iorg said.

Designated giving ended the year just above the previous year with more than $200 million dollars designated.

September national Cooperative Program giving:

• Monthly budgeted amount: $15,913,000.00
• September 2024 giving: $14,945,456.36
• Above/below budget: $967,543.64 (6.08%) below budget

Total national Cooperative Program giving:

• Year-to-date budgeted amount: $195,250,000.00
• Year-to-date giving: $191,239,289.07
• Above/under budget: $4,010,710.93 (2.05%) below budget

Designated giving:

• September giving: $4,358,389.81
• Year-to-date giving: $200,874,348.63
• Previous year-to-date total: $200,728,333.31
• Above/below previous year: $146,015.32 (.07%) above the previous year

The convention-adopted budget for 2023-2024 was $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% to international missions through the International Mission Board (IMB)
• 22.79% to North American missions through the North American Mission Board (NAMB)
• 22.16% to theological education through the six SBC seminaries and the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives
• 2.99% to the SBC operating budget
• 1.65% to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC)

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.