TL;DR
December is the biggest month for online giving—and it’s closer than you think. To finish the year strong, your church needs a six-part “giving stack” in place by October. This guide walks you through the must-haves: a trustworthy giving platform, mobile-optimized website, social presence, donor segmentation, mass email tools, and yes—even postage-paid envelopes. Use the checklist to get ready now, so you’re not scrambling when generosity peaks.
If December is the Super Bowl of generosity, then October is training camp.
Don’t assume donors will “just give when they’re ready.” Attention is fragmented, inboxes are flooded, and trust is earned—not granted. Winning year-end results come from two things working together: a compelling message and a reliable giving stack that gets that message seen, clicked, and completed.
December routinely carries an outsized share of online giving—roughly a quarter of annual digital revenue—and the final day alone can deliver a meaningful spike.
Build the stack now, so you’re not scrambling when the clock’s running down.
Your Year-End Giving Stack: The Six Non-Negotiables
1. A dynamic website (secure, fast, clear).
Your website is the first place people visit—long before they “darken the doors.” Make it clean, current, mobile-ready, and secure—because trust converts.
See: A Trustworthy Giving Platform
2. A robust online giving platform (plus text giving).
Aim for the majority of gifts to flow digitally—with custom defaults for recurring, one-time, and special funds. Make giving two taps away from every page, email, and social post.
Learn how partners do this: Revolutionizing Generosity: Unlock Tap to Give
3. A real social media presence.
Like it or not, many in your community spend hours on social platforms. Use them to seed stories, drive people to your giving page, and remind them when and why to give.
How to align platform + social: Share the Vision with Social Media
4. Postage-prepaid envelopes (yes, really).
“Old-school” still works—especially for year-end and older donors. Make offline giving seamless and fast to process.
See our check-scanning overview: Check Scanning: The Modern Solution for Traditional Giving
5. An actionable donor database.
Don’t settle for a big list—make it a useful list. Identify new givers, lapsing givers, and recurring givers (OnlineGiving.org provides these tools). Then communicate differently to each segment.
Example in action: How Today’s Tech Advances a 2,000-Year-Old Story
6. A mass email platform (integrated with your data).
Batch, segment, automate, and schedule. Use proven cadences for December: pre-GivingTuesday, mid-month, final-week reminders, and a Dec 31 morning + late-day push.
Tips: 3 Little Letters for Fundraising Success
Quick Deployment Checklist (Use This Now)
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Put your giving link in the navigation and footer of your website, plus a homepage year-end banner.
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Add “Give” and “Year-End” buttons to your church app and QR codes to in-service slides.
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Pre-build December email/SMS drafts and schedule them (with different subject lines for A/B testing).
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Create at least three social media variants per message (story, impact stat, direct ask).
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Ensure your text-to-give keywords route to the correct year-end funds.
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Make recurring giving easy (clear options for monthly, weekly, etc.).
Why This Matters
Giving concentrates late: December is consistently the heaviest online-giving month, and the final day still packs a punch. That’s why run-of-show and technical readiness matter. Don’t guess—plan.
Ready to Finish the Year Strong?
By embracing mobile giving and these essential tools, your church can bridge generational gaps, engage donors across all ages, and secure the funding needed to advance your mission.
Start planning today—your impact depends on it.
Call us at (615) 206-4000
Or email: support@onlinegiving.org to schedule your complimentary consultation.
The Stewardship Coach
December is the Super Bowl of giving.
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) September 25, 2025
October is training camp.
Here’s your 6-part “Giving Stack” to prep now so you’re not scrambling when generosity peaks: https://t.co/DmACyp3DHH pic.twitter.com/1I7v54js9b
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