Would it surprise you to learn that, of the churches recently surveyed by Giving Rocket, only 14 percent were meeting or exceeding budget?
Knowing that churches rely entirely on donations to survive, not meeting the annual budget means critical mission work is in jeopardy of being underfunded. Fundraising for any nonprofit organization has, and always will, present challenges because the root of its failures typically stems from poor communication. Conversely, successful communication is one of the key attributes of any organization, but especially churches. The most common synonym for “successful” is “accomplishment.”
Is your church ‘accomplishing’ or exceeding its budget? If you answered “no” to this question, you must read this article.
Historically and traditionally, churches have relied on one primary source of communication to promote giving in their organizations—offering envelopes. This mode of communication had such an impact that companies were created out of its need as far back as a century ago, and several are still in operation. How can this be, you might ask, given the ubiquitous influence of technology? Even the United States Postal Service is struggling because there is an obvious shift in communication preferences with the evolution of technology.
First, let me remind you that churches are dealing with people, and people will always have a diverse set of preferences for how they do anything, including giving.
Second, is your church doing everything it can to promote giving? Are you addressing it from the pulpit consistently? Are you communicating directly and regularly with your members? Do your members know all the ways your church benefits from these charitable gifts? After all, isn’t the church, the Body of Christ, biblically, ethically and morally obligated to reveal this information? How many avenues of giving are provided to the members? Do you still rely solely on envelopes? What about online giving, text giving, kiosk giving or mobile giving?
From the Pulpit
There is no scientific correlation between preaching about stewardship and how much your church receives in donations. But just like anything else, if you never ask, you will probably never receive. Keep in mind, it’s not what you say so much as how you say it. While I am not employed with Giving Rocket, I am comfortable sharing with you that they provide a document titled ‘The Giving Talk’ to help you develop just the right words to share with your congregation, motivating them to at least continue, if not increase, their giving. You can also seek out similar resources to accomplish the same.
Communication
Earlier, I mentioned the importance of communication. Don’t keep it a secret when your church is blessed with giving that supports a particular cause, or even helps it reach budget. Shout it from the mountain tops, along with praise and gratitude. People are motivated by many things, but none are as effective as praise. Don’t hesitate to send contribution statements at least quarterly. With all of the activities going on in each person’s life, we need to be reminded of the importance of financially supporting the church. While it is not technology-based, a monthly mailing program still addresses a certain sector of individuals that ‘prefer’ to give with an envelope. Even for the tech junkies, the monthly mailing program serves as a communication piece that reminds members to fulfill their spiritual obligation on a monthly basis.
