How Gratitude Increases Giving
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How Gratitude Increases Giving

Mon, Nov 11th 2024 · Mark Brooks

TL;DR:

Expressing gratitude to donors significantly boosts giving. Churches can increase engagement by thanking donors through personalized messages that highlight the impact of their gifts. OnlineGiving.org’s tools and support make it easy to incorporate gratitude into donation receipts, fostering a positive cycle of generosity and connection.

To move people to give, you must know how gratitude increases giving. As Americans approach Thanksgiving and charities focus on end-of-year giving, we wanted to share how our platform and system allow churches to express gratitude, increasing giving.

First, we have found that 80% of our email receipts, sent out immediately after a person gives through one of our partner churches, are opened. Why? People want to make sure their gift is recorded accurately. An 80% open rate is unheard of. This allows our partners an incredible opportunity to express gratitude for the gift and show what that money supported. In doing so, they pave the way for the next gift.

Here are a few things we have found about expressing gratitude and thankfulness for people’s gifts.

1. Churches teach gratefulness by how they respond to givers. Everything we do in church is a teachable moment. When you make an effort to thank those who fuel your ministry, it shows them you are grateful and sets a standard for them in how to respond to those who give to them.

2. Gratefulness begets gratefulness! When you show gratefulness to donors, they, in turn, show gratefulness. How you respond teaches them how to respond.

3. Why is thanking your donors important? Here are a few reasons we stress having a thank-you plan of action:

  • Saying thank you for a past gift is a subtle way of reminding people about giving.
  • Saying thank you builds a platform upon which to ask for further gifts.
  • Saying thank you produces happy donors. Ninety-nine percent of your donors are not expecting a thank you, but they will appreciate one when given.
  • Saying thank you shows that you recognize donors are not simply numbers but real people.
  • Saying thank you sets you apart from others who never acknowledge donations.
  • Saying thank you allows you to say what gifts accomplish. People give to what matters!

Let’s spend some time on that last bullet point. How would you do that in an email receipt? Here are a few examples of text our partners have used in their email receipts to donors…

  • “Because of your generosity, we could share the gospel with 1,100 kids at six campuses during VBS in June.”
  • “Because of your generosity, this Easter, we could share the good news of the gospel with 16,352 people who attended one of our Easter services! By God's grace, 73 of those made professions of faith!”
  • “Because of your generosity, we were able to launch our newest campus on January 13th. By the grace of God, we had 582 people worship with us, including over 100 first-time guests, 108 kids, and 27 students on our very first Sunday! What each of those numbers represents is a life, a story the gospel is now shaping. Your giving has given many a new church home!”

By showing the impact of giving, your receipts become effective messages about how the donor's gift positively impacted the world. This makes your next appeal to that donor much more likely to be responded to.

All of the above statements of gratitude were sent out through our system. We give you the tools to get your message heard and step-by-step instructions on how to do that. If you run into trouble, we are a call away with the industry's best customer support.

Jennifer Maddox, the financial assistant at Fellowship Bible Church of Jackson, TN, said, “I love OnlineGiving.org because they make the online giving process easy and smooth. In fact, I have never been involved with better Customer Service. I’m talking not just about church business but also about customer service in my personal life. The people are friendly, and they answer me quickly.”

Check out more about our customer service in this post: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/customer-support-that-understands

Our partner churches do amazing things for the Kingdom. We help them tell their stories effectively and give them the tools to express heartfelt gratitude for the gifts they receive. We have learned that saying thank you for people’s generosity is the first step in gaining their next gift.

To find out more, contact us today at (615) 206-4000 or support@onlinegiving.org.

Written by Mark Brooks
The Stewardship Coach

 

 

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