Do you know who’s listening, subscribing, and donating to your ministry? Stacie de Armas, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Consumer Engagement for Nielsen Media Research, recently shared a startling statistic: The mode age for non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. is 55. For Hispanics, it’s eight years old!
A force to be reckoned with
De Armas was presenting at Proclaim 19, the National Religious Broadcasters’ International Christian Media Convention last month. This presentation was hosted by the Kerux Group – just one of the ways Kerux participated in the convention. That statistic, alongside many others, showed how Latinos’ influence on American culture and business is dramatically increasing. If you want your ministry to thrive in the future, you can’t ignore U.S. Hispanics. However, if you feel uncertain about how to break the ice, you’re not alone. Who are U.S. Hispanics? And are they interested in faith-based organizations?
The answer is yes! Religion is important to many Hispanics, and your ministry has a major opportunity to win their commitment.
Young… and social
But knowing your audience is always the first step. De Armas started her presentation with an introduction to this incredible group of people. As we already mentioned, Hispanics are young! Although Hispanics are 18 percent of the US population, they comprised 51 percent of total U.S. population growth from 2016 to 2017. And 60 percent are younger than 34. Latinos are also both extremely community-minded and active on digital media.
Ministry minded
This is where you come in: for Hispanics, culture and faith are interwoven. 67 percent consider themselves to be a religious person. 56 percent agree religion should be the pillar of our society. 48 percent say they attend religious services regularly. And 69 percent agree that prayer is part of their daily life. Throughout various parts of their lives, most Latinos demonstrate that faith is one of their core values.
Cheerful givers
What about giving? Based on the most recent numbers, Hispanics direct 30 percent of their donations to religious organizations. De Armas went on to point out a larger opportunity; the next biggest categories are social welfare, education, and political organizations. “What if we could bring all of that giving together under one umbrella?” she proposed. Many ministries include more than one of those categories. If you invest the time and resources to winning the hearts of Hispanics, your organization could experience Hispanics’ generosity on an even bigger level.
Connecting with Hispanics in a culturally authentic way isn’t simple, but it is worth it. This group is community-minded, faith-driven, and generous. They’re also quickly growing in numbers and influence. Your ministry has a major opportunity with Latinos! The Kerux Group has the experience and insight you need to help start your outreach. Let us know when you want to start speaking to Hispanics in a way they’ll respond to.