Begin With the Right Building Blocks
The following post is reprinted with permission.
25% to 30% of non-profits annual giving comes in during the last six weeks of the year. In my experience, churches can also see a significant bump in year-end giving if they have and work a plan. A good end-of-year plan must have the right building blocks supporting that plan.
I’m helping churches put together their end-of-year plans, helping them make sure they have what I call the basic building blocks needed for communicating their message. In my last post, I shared the importance of your message. You want to cast a compelling message of how your end-of-year offering will make a difference for the Kingdom. Yet, with your members being bombarded daily with thousands of messages, how do you get your message or story heard? You must have the systems in place to tell that story. I call these the Basic Building Blocks for generosity communication.
Every year, I write an end-of-year giving plan for church leaders. The following is a page from that plan. These are the basics you need. Make sure they are in place now so that you can use them to help boost end-of-year giving. Here is my list…
1. Dynamic website. Your website is the first place most people will visit before they ever darken your doors. Make yours a good and secure one! Here is a great post on the importance of a secure online presence: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/a-trustworthy-giving-platform
2. Robust online giving platform, including text giving. You should aim to have most of your giving come through digital means. Here is a post that shows how our platform allows our partners to accomplish this: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/the-power-of-instant-communication
3. Social Media platform and presence. Like it or not, many people spend much of their time on social media. If you are not there, you miss an opportunity to connect with your people and those in your community. Here is a post that shows how to utilize our platform and social media: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/share-the-vision-with-social-media
4. Postage-prepaid envelopes. I know this sounds old school, but this can be a great tool if used properly. We can help you process those checks seamlessly and quickly. Here is a post about our amazing check-scanning capabilities: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/the-case-for-checks-and-cash
5. Extensive database of your donors. Having all your members’ email addresses is a given. Yet, you need to be able to break this list down by various subgroups, like first-time givers, consistency, etc. Here is a great story of how one church used its database and our platform to reach hundreds of new believers: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/how-todays-tech-advances-a-2000-year-old-story
6. A mass email platform. There are many platforms to help you send out emails in multiple batches. Some offer free services for a limited number of sends. Most cost only a few dollars a month. Find the tool that suits your church database best. Here is a great post on how to utilize email and our platform: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/3-little-letters-for-fundraising-success
With today’s technology, any church can have the above tools in place. These become the systems and tools upon which you build out the story of your message or appeal. You can have the best message, but if your members and potential donors never hear that message, they won’t give to support it. The most effective and impactful end-of-year giving strategies have a compelling message and the most up-to-date technology to get that message heard.
With as much as 30% of their yearly revenue coming through end-of-year giving, non-profits can’t afford to let their message go unheard. That’s why their plans are already in place, and they are working on that plan. Do you have a plan? We strive to ensure our partners do.
Our partners at OnlineGiving.org have access to my comprehensive end-of-year giving plan and all my seasonal giving plans. These plans and tools are designed to help our partners effectively utilize their life-changing message across our platform, boosting their results. If your current provider does not offer such plans and tools, we are here to support you. Contact us at (615) 206-4000 or drop us a line at support@onlinegiving.org. We give you the building blocks plus a plan of action to succeed. We can help make your end-of-year giving your best ever!
The preceding post, and others like it, can be found at https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/begin-with-the-right-building-blocks