Have you received an appeal asking for a Christmas offering gift yet? If you have ever given a penny to a non-profit or attended one of their events, likely, you are starting to receive end-of-year appeals. Why is that? Because that is when most of their money is often raised. Roughly 30% of non-profit budgets come in December, with 10% coming in the last three days of the year.1. With so much riding on end-of-year giving, you can understand why you are getting those appeals months before Christmas.
This is why we believe it is time to think about end-of-year giving for your church. And the good news is that we can help you have your best end-of-year giving. With our platform and plans, we can close out your year on a strong note by helping to fund the vital missions and ministries your church does for the Kingdom.
To increase your end-of-year giving, here are four steps we recommend.
Step One: Craft a meaningful message for your appeal.
Your appeal must motivate people to give. Not to be cute, but the more appealing you make your appeal, the more likely people will respond. Don’t make your appeal about hitting some budget number. Make your appeal about Kingdom impact.
Step Two: Use all your platforms to support your message.
Successful charities use multiple channels to make their appeals. The twenty-first-century offering looks nothing like our grandparent’s offering. With technology, the proverbial offering plate needs never to be closed. With so much of commerce and charitable giving shifting to digital means, you must have an up-to-date and robust platform, because the fastest increase in charitable giving is coming via online gifts.
We have 13 different giving methods, from Crypto to text giving. We provide you with tools to best connect with your people. Contact us today at (615) 206-4000 or email us at support@onlinegiving.org.
Step Three: Create a plan of action to get your message out.
All those early appeals you are already getting from non-profits - I can assure you it is all part of a plan that culminates at midnight on December 31st. They have a plan of action to get their message out through snail mail, email, texts, social media, and more. Without plans, appeals appear haphazard and desperate. Start planning.
We just launched our 2022 edition of “The Two Minute Drill: A Winning Plan of Action for End of Year Giving. This playbook has everything a church needs to build a successful end-of-year appeal. Our clients get this help for free. To find out how to get a copy, contact us at (615) 206-4000 or email us at support@onlinegiving.org.
Step Four: Celebrate and give thanks!
Your donors will want to know, “How’d we do?” So, tell them AND remember to thank them for their generosity. And that is another thing we can help you with. With our system, you can craft engaging and heartfelt thanks for donations by modifying the giving receipts that are sent. You can tell stories of how God is using their gifts in the local community and beyond. Seeing the impact of their gift will motivate them to give again.
These four steps can and will work for you. Don’t look now, but the year-end is just around the corner. It’s time to think about end-of-year giving, and we are here to help. We make it easy to connect with us. Call today at (615) 206-4000 or email us at support@onlinegiving.org.
The Stewardship Coach
Let us help you have your best end-of-year giving yet! With our platform and plans, we can close out your year on a strong note by helping to fund the vital missions and ministries your church does for the Kingdom. https://t.co/nV7HObo9nU pic.twitter.com/U0Lf524Rdx
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) September 30, 2022
