Transformational Leadership and Fiscal Sustainability in African American Churches

African American church leaders often experience difficulty responding to financial crises, which ultimately increases their risk of organizational failure. Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and fiscal sustainability of African American churches in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, California, and the District of Columbia. Data were gathered from online surveys received from 92 adult church leaders who were responsible for the daily administration of their church’s duties and responsibilities. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated the model significantly predicted fiscal sustainability, F(5,86) = 4.889, p \u3c .001, and R2 = .221. In the final model, intellectual stimulation (ß = .695, t = 3.744, p \u3c .001) was the only significant positive predictor of fiscal sustainability. The remaining 4 predictors did not provide a significant contribution to the predictor model. Leaders who stimulate followers’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills have a higher propensity for ensuring financial sustainability. The implications for positive social change include the potential for African American churches to remain solvent during periods of fiscal crises