Summer-Proof Your Generosity
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Summer-Proof Your Generosity

Mon, Apr 17th 2023 · Mark Brooks

For you and your church, recurring giving can help take the worry out of summer giving! In 2013, I wrote a blog about the importance of accepting giving online. At the time, only 14% of churches accepted giving online, according to a Lifeway Research poll. One of my former students serving as a pastor of a small midwestern church read that post and instituted an online donation tool. Specifically, he encouraged members to set their giving to recur automatically. I will never forget his statement to me when he said,

“Recurring giving has taken the worry out of our Monday staff meetings in the summer. We used to spend time figuring out what bill to put off as our offerings were low. With recurring giving, our offerings have evened out, and we can more easily do the things we want to do in summer!”

What pastor wouldn’t love a worry-free summer? I want church leaders to be focused on missions, not money, during the summer. As a result, I counsel church leaders to use May to focus on setting up recurring giving. Here are some keys as you think about this.

The advantages of recurring giving are…

  • It’s the modern-day equivalent of writing the 1st check to God. The key to being generous is to prioritize giving. Making sure you give back to God before spending on anything else assures putting God first. It also assures the gift will be made.
  • It evens out your giving, especially in summer. This helps in your planning for events. With recurring giving, you can better predict how much giving will come in for upcoming quarters.
  • It helps you receive gifts that would otherwise go to Mickey or boating at the lake! Few, if any, members will return from their vacations and catch up on all the offerings they missed while hiking up Pike’s Peak. Recurring giving assures their offering will be there even while they hike in the woods.

How to encourage recurring giving…

  • Use the month of May to focus on the value of recurring giving.
  • 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 

Of course, all of the above assumes you have a digital donation platform set up beforehand and a support team to advise you in increasing your recurring giving. Does your digital donation provider give you advice on how to do this? We do!

We have developed the “secret sauce” for increasing churches’ recurring giving percentages. It is not unusual to see new clients increase their recurring signups by 20% or more. Moving members from credit card transactions to direct deposit from their bank account to the churches (ACH payments) can save you thousands of dollars annually. See this post for more information on how ACH recurring giving can save your church money, https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/saving-you-time-and-money. 

We have the best system and can integrate with your existing systems, providing you with a seamless online donation experience. To find out how we can help you save money with our secret sauce, contact us at (615) 206-4000 or drop us a line at support@onlinegiving.org.

To be fully funded this summer, you must make giving easy and fun; recurring giving is the easiest way for people to give, even at the lake or beach! Then when you take your vacation, you can relax without worry knowing the bills will be paid.

Written by Mark Brooks
The Stewardship Coach

 

 

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