It’s the week after Easter. As a former Senior Pastor for over twenty years, I understand that the last thing a pastor or staff member wants after Easter is another task. Most of my clients take the week after Easter off. They can be found on the golf course, on a fishing boat, or simply chilling out on the couch. I highly recommend that all the church staff get some rest like this. At the same time, I want to encourage you to do one thing this week in between rounds of golf: thank your donors.
This past Sunday was probably your most attended and viewed service of the year. If you are the typical church that took up an offering Easter weekend, you probably received gifts from new donors as well as your faithful givers. Multiple studies have shown that when a donor is contacted within a 24—to 48-hour window, they are more likely to give again. This is a major reason I advise my clients to invest time in saying thank you to new donors and faithful donors.
As a stewardship coach, I think this way because Easter is over, and summer is coming. Summer is a challenging time for giving, so my focus for my clients is on stabilizing giving. I’ll share more about this in future posts. That said, a thank you note, text, email, or snail mail letter might help keep giving strong throughout the summer months. I think that is worth doing the week after Easter.
A few years ago, I devised five key post-Easter strategies. I wrote a post last year that outlined those keys, which can be found at: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/what-to-do-in-the-days-after-easter. One of the key points I shared then was to reach out in gratitude to those who gave on Easter. In this post, I want to flesh that out a bit more.
I teach what I call the Gratitude Lane. The Gratitude Lane is about expressing sincere gratitude for the financial gifts God sends your way. I teach how to use special events to increase generosity. My focus for the last few months has been the Easter offering. To fully have a successful Easter offering, I believe you must end by showing gratitude.
Here are a few segments you might have seen give to your Easter offering that you might consider thanking…
- First-time donors: Thanking these donors for their gifts while showing them the value of that gift could lead to the next gift given and, ultimately, the donor realizing the joy of generosity.
- Top-tier donors: The average church sees 15% of its donor base give 50% of all gifts. These people’s faithful giving allowed you to have Easter. Why not write a personal note or text of thanks to a few of these donors this week?
- The faithful but forgotten: Why not pick someone in your church who gives faithfully year after year?
- Publicly say thank you regularly and often: Every offering time should be a time to thank those who donate to your church. You can also say thanks through your Social Media posts. Showing gratitude to those who help fuel your missions and ministry will help increase giving.
Here are a few ideas on how you can express gratitude year-round.
- Write up-to-date automated thank you notes for your online giving receipts. For more ideas on how to do this, see my blog post at https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/because-of-your-generosity.
- Write periodic notes in your own handwriting to your top donors and faithful donors expressing your thanks. I leave it to you to decide what percentage or amount generates a thank you note. I would suggest that you at least consider your top fifteen percent.
- Write a note of thanks to all your first-time donors. I have a follower who typically runs around 1,500 each weekend, yet he writes a handwritten note to all who give for the first time, thanking them for their gift.
- Make sure every appeal expresses thanks for the gift and also linking how that gift helps support your church’s vision. We are always looking for the next gift.
The bottom line is to be thankful and thank those who give to your church. It takes little effort to say thanks, but the return is enormous. Find regular and creative ways to express your appreciation to your donors, and the time you invest will bring a harvest.
We would love to show you how our platform and systems can help you better express gratitude to your donors. For a free demonstration, contact us at (615) 206-4000 or support@onlinegiving.org.
The Stewardship Coach
Be thankful and thank those who give to your church. It takes little effort to say thanks, but the return is enormous. https://t.co/BI5GEKzfW5 pic.twitter.com/YMujWJGrB6
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) April 1, 2024