Nonprofit employees want inspired leaders with bold vision: Nonprofit employees ranked vision, relationship building, inspiring trust, and strong communication skills as the most valued elements of leadership. That was the finding of a national study recently conducted among nonprofit employees by a leading nonprofit firm, Dickerson, Bakker & Associates. You...
In my twenty-five years as a stewardship coach, I have found that there are two common downfalls that churches run into when it comes to donations: taking their donors for granted and failing to thank them. I am often amazed at how poor the average church is at simply expressing...
The following post appears at https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/no-church-is-too-small “I don’t think there is any viable reason in 2023 for a church to not offer digital giving. I say that as a millennial financial professional who hasn’t given a physical cash/check tithe in who knows how long. It’s not expensive, and more importantly, it...
We are broadening our list of contributors to bring you the best thought leaders in stewardship. Did you know that stewardship is more than giving money? In fact, our goal is to help you increase generosity based on biblical stewardship. Biblical stewardship can be defined by an understanding that the...
“That is the first sermon on giving I have heard in twelve years!” Those were the words of a deacon at a church where I was asked to preach. After twelve years of ministry, their pastor had just left to start a mission. Apparently, the last pastor, although greatly loved,...
Are Evangelicals Biased? What impact does race and gender in fundraising have? Does it matter whether a donor-supported organization shows a picture of a boy or a girl in their appeal? Do donors favor helping children of their own racial or ethnic background? Does the impact of an image depend on...
Pastor! Do you know what is your lowest attended weekends? I recently read a Thom Rainer article that helped me think through low-attended weekends and what strategically you need to do to avoid a lag in your momentum. I wrote the following blog post that I wanted to share with...
When it comes to giving, can you make up lost ground? Yes. Every summer, I encourage what I call a come-from-behind giving strategy. My goal is to help you close whatever giving gap you are currently experiencing. Desperate appeals versus decisive appeals. First, let me explain why you should consider closing...
“The Senior Pastor won’t be in the meeting.” That was the reply a lay leader shared with me once when his church wanted my help. I replied that the meeting would be worthless unless the pastor showed up. That wasn’t the answer they were looking for, and I never heard...
Often the biggest roadblock that I must overcome when working with a church to increase generosity is a pastor or the staff. They simply don’t see the need for all the fuss about giving and generosity. Most pastors never think of preaching about giving! That is until July rolls around,...
