Easter is over, and it’s time for you, as church leaders, to take charge and plan for summer. As a stewardship coach for some of the largest churches in America, I find that one of my greatest values lies in helping churches be aware of trends that could negatively impact their finances. It's crucial for you to think about these kinds of things, as, without proper planning, you and your staff might not have the funds for all you want to do. One trend that greatly impacts churches is the typical decline in giving during the summer months. So, I work with clients to develop giving plans to meet that challenge.
Around this time last year, I wrote a post here entitled 7 Reasons to Make Summer Giving Plans. You can find it here: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/7-reasons-to-make-summer-giving-plans. Here are my seven reasons for why you need a summer giving plan,
1. The post-Easter slump –Post-Easter attendance can drop until fall, which impacts giving. You need a plan to negate this slump.
2. Your past history—If your past summer giving has been challenging, what will change this year? A good plan can help.
3. Increased competition (e.g., Disney, lake, beach, sports, etc.) leads to declining engagement and participation.This is largely the reason for the post-Easter slump in giving. How are you going to connect with people who are gone?
4. If you are already behind in giving –The further you fall behind, the harder it is to catch up.
5. If you don’t have a strong fourth quarter –A strong fourth quarter can make up any giving gap. If your past fourth quarters have not been strong, closing any giving gap is imperative.
6. If you want to stay ahead –It takes continual work to ensure your church’s financial stability. Yet, that work assures you stay on pace, which makes hitting your budget numbers easier.
7. If you want to connect your summer vision to giving, moving everyone up the generosity ladder –A compelling vision of life change is a powerful motivator for people to give. You can inspire your congregation to give generously and support your initiatives by articulating a compelling vision.
The above points are why I make sure my clients start immediately after Easter, planning a strategy to offset the potential decline in summer giving. Those plans are provided to all our OnlineGiving.org church partners for free. We don’t simply tell you to do something; we show you how. For more information, contact us at (615) 206-4000 or support@onlinegiving.org.
Let me share one part of the plan I put together to offset the decline in giving. Encourage your members and attendees to make their giving recurring.
I have found three primary benefits of recurring giving.
Your giving will go up. Recurring giving means my gift shows up in the offering whether or not I am on vacation. As a result of not missing gifts, your overall giving increases.
It assures that the offering stays steady in down-times and crises. This is crucial when most of your outreach spending occurs in the summer months. As one of my clients once said, “Recurring giving took the angst out of summer for our staff.”
It gives you a predictive ability to manage expenses and cash flow better. By making the offering amount more consistent, churches can better stay current on bills and other financial obligations.
Every May, I encourage my churches to hold a campaign to encourage attendees to sign up for automated recurring giving. Here are a few recommendations on how to do this…
- Consider a direct mail letter, email, or text encouraging recurring giving.
- Across all your platforms, show people how easy it is to set up recurring giving. Use bulletin inserts, screenshots, and announcements to tell how easy it is to set up recurring giving.
- Use social media posts to encourage recurring giving.
- Consider changing the wording in your automated gift confirmation emails to encourage making gifts recurring. Here is a post on that topic: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/dont-just-send-receipts-tell-a-story
Summer will be here before you know it. Now is the time to plan for summer. Our platform doesn’t simply process money given to you digitally; it also gives you incredible communication tools to share your story of life change. Contact us today for a free demonstration at (615) 206-4000 or support@onlinegiving.org.
It’s time to plan for summer; we are here to help you!
The Stewardship Coach
Serving churches for many years, we know giving trends down in the summertime. With a plan for summer giving, your church can beat that trend. We can show you how!https://t.co/9kN9GmVFMV pic.twitter.com/86BnQlVWHm
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) April 8, 2024
