Church charity fundraising in a decreasingly religious society: Case of the Three Kings Collection in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Our research addresses the research gap of church charity fundraising in times of decreasing religiosity in the context of post-communist countries while reflecting international trends. However, the research gap can also be understood more broadly as the inadequate understanding of faith-based charities. We know “relatively little about how faith-based NGOs practice policy advocacy and even less about their roles in the education and formation of faith communities in the donor countries” (Nelson, Religious voices in the politics of international development, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, p. 14). The spiritual background of faith-based charities and the impact of that background on society have been completely unexplored in the Czech context. The paper examines the “Three Kings Collection” (TKC), an annual fundraising event, during which tens of thousands of volunteer carolers dress as the three kings on their way to meet the newborn Jesus, visiting public places in cities and going door-to-door in villages, singing the Three Kings Carol, and asking for donations to the Caritas mission to help people in need. The paper aims to identify the size and scope of the revenues of the TKC and the size, scope, and value of volunteering against a background of decreasing religiosity and declining trust in churches. We also identify the Caritas strategies for overcoming periods of crisis and the challenges facing the TKC that may intensify over time. We articulate the research implications in the field of national and international giving and volunteering.