Three Emails to Boost End of Year Giving

Did you know that almost 20% of all charitable giving occurs during the month of December? And most of that giving happens in the last 48 hours of the year. In a post last year I suggested sending one email at year end. Today, I would plan on sending 3 simple emails the last 3 days of the year to leverage those giving statistics and boost your end-of-year giving.

Here is the simple formula you can follow to maximize your year-end giving appeal:

• Prepare all three emails following the template below
  • The same template is used for all three emails, with only slight modifications!
• Send email #1 on Sunday afternoon, December 29
• Send email #2 on Monday, December 30
• Send email #3 on Tuesday, December 31

Year-end Email template

1. Personalize the salutation. Don’t be generic in the opening, but mail-merge the first name of your recipient(s).Dear Joe and Julie,
2. Get straight to the point – make the ask and include a deadline.I’m writing to ask if you would be willing to send a special year-end gift before midnight, December 31.
3. Connect the gift to the mission of your church/organization. If your vision is to “Help Everyone Become an Outwardly Focused Follower of Jesus”, then you might say:Because of your gift, we will see more people reached with the good news of Christ as we help everyone become an outwardly focused follower of Jesus.
4. Give a reason for them to give now. You have a couple of different directions you could go with this, any of which will work as long as they are applicable to your situation. Some examples might include:
   1. Your gift is tax deductible if received by midnight December 31.
   2. Help us finish the year in a strong way as we prepare for the new year ahead.
   3. Our missions team is heading to Mozambique in January. Your gift is needed now so we can send $20,000 along to help complete the church under construction there.
5. Acknowledge that we share a common purpose by connecting with the giver and saying thank you.As followers of Christ, we care about the lost in our community and around the world. I know you share our passion for reaching those who are far from God. Thank you for your ongoing support of the mission and ministry of our church.
6. Make another ask with a deadline.Will you join me in making a special gift to ABC Church before midnight December 31?
7. Add the closing and your signatureI love being your pastor!
   Mike
8. Add a P.S. – this is the most read section of your email – so make the ask one last time.Make your gift online before midnight December 31 by clicking here (LINK TO YOUR ONLINE GIVING PAGE). You can also drop a check by the church office before 5pm on December 31.

Emails #2 and #3

For your second and third emails, you can use the same template, but each one gets a little shorter. Make the following changes:

• Email #2 – Simply remove the content in bullet #5 from the first template. Keep everything else the same if you want to make it super simple, or you can change up the content you used in bullet #4 if you choose.
• Email #3 – Remove both bullets #3 and #5 from this final email. Again – you can change wording if you desire, but it really isn’t necessary. In bullet #2 you could say“Today is the day! Would you be willing to make a special year-end gift by midnight tonight?”

This is super simple – and it works. You’ll be surprised at how your giving will be impacted by utilizing this email strategy.

Additional Resources

As you think ahead to 2020, check out the free eBooks:

• Annual Giving Statements 2019: How to Surprise and Delight Your Givers
• First-Time Givers: The Ultimate Guide to Converting First-Time Givers to Second-Time Givers
• The Big Shift: How To Engage a Less-Engaged Church Goer