One Email Will Increase Your Year-End Giving

More than 18% of all giving occurs in December, making it the most charitable month of the year. Last year, 23% of online giving to church happened in December. Let’s leverage those statistics to your advantage and increase your year-end giving.

To have a successful year-end giving appeal:

• Prepare an email to your entire database using the formula below.
• Schedule the email for Friday, December 28 or Saturday, December 29.
• If you do a special Christmas Eve offering, send this email anyway. You won’t have 100% attendance on Christmas Eve, and some people who celebrate with you that day will give again.

Year End-Giving Appeal Email Formula

1. Personalized salutation. Do not use any generic greeting here; use people’s first name. “Dear faithful member” isn’t warm and connecting.

Dear Cindy,

2. Connect to your mission. Build on their relationship with the church and you as their pastor, and thank them for their investment and participation in ministry.

2018 has been an amazing year at First Church as we’ve worked together to fulfill our mission of “Making Disciples who Worship, Learn, and Serve.” Our people have made tremendous investments of time and money to make this a year of many successes. You’re a part of that, and I am thankful for you.

3. Highlight a few ministry wins from 2018. Think about mission trips, growth in attendance, group participation, and discipleship, significant milestones, and so on.

We have seen our worship attendance grow by 34% to over 1,800 each weekend. Thank you for inviting your friends, neighbors, and co-workers to worship with us.

We launched 16 new community groups in 2018, and have seen group participation grow to an all-time high, with 1,240 adults, students, and kids participating weekly in one of our groups or classes.

Remember the luncheon we had for Wilson Elementary School in July? We hosted over 60 staff, fed them an amazing lunch, and gifted each of them with $250 worth of supplies for their classrooms, and over 400 backpacks for their students that were handed out on the first day of school. I wish you could have seen the faces of those teachers when we pulled back the curtain on those surprises! 

4. Say thank you.

Thank you for making these wins possible. There are so many other highlights we could mention, none of which would have been possible without your faithful support.

5. Make the ask. Be sure to include a link to your online giving portal.

As 2018 comes to a close in just a few hours, would you be willing to make one final gift toward the mission of First Church? Your support makes everything we do possible, and your gift will allow us to start strong in 2019. Click this link to make your online gift right now.

6. Closing and signature. Thank folks again.

Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for your investment of time. Thank you for your prayers. I am honored to be your pastor.

Blessings,
Pastor John

7. Include a P.S. It’s the most read part of the message!

P.S. If you prefer to give by check, the office will be open until noon on Monday, December 31. Any mailed gifts postmarked by December 31 are tax deductible in 2018.

Celebrate Year-End Giving Success

The first week of 2019, be sure to share the results of your giving appeal. It’s likely you’ll have many first-time givers respond to this year-end opportunity, and it’s possible you’ll receive an unexpected major gift (or more!). Your congregation will be encouraged and inspired by the collective generosity of your church, so be sure to celebrate together.

Additional Resources

As you think ahead to 2019, check out these free eBooks:

• Annual Giving Statements: How to Surprise and Delight Your Givers
• First-Time Givers: The Ultimate Guide to Converting First-Time Givers to Second-Time Givers
• Establishing a Culture of Legacy Giving in Your Church