18 Mar 19 Tips For Increasing Church Giving

Charitable giving has been on the decline, and individual giving declined in 2018. Since then, it has continued to decline and was also down again in the 2019 fiscal year.

Many economists would attribute this to inflation and economic strategy currently in place throughout the US.

Because of this, churches have taken a hit in their giving and income over the past few years. Although, some churches are still able to grow and build their donations despite this. So how is it that some churches are growing and others are slowly declining?

Today we’re breaking down 20 ways in which these churches are increasing their giving even in a time where people are being less charitable.

Take out a pen and paper or open up the notes app on your phone because there are bound to be solutions here that you can implement in your church!

1. Clearly Communicate Your Mission and Vision With Giving

Many churches and organizations alike completely overlook this concept. But, if a community doesn’t know “the why” for giving, then they’re not likely to give. Help your people understand by clearly communicating the mission and vision of your church.

Consider revising your mission and vision statement to match your goals as a leader. Your congregation will more fully identify with a clear message and support you.

2. Make Sure You Have a Mobile-Friendly Website

Mobile-friendly websites are not the wave of the future. They are here and now. If you haven’t optimized your site so that it can be viewed on a mobile device, then your work is definitely cut out for you. Unfortunately, giving rates at churches with websites that aren’t mobile-optimized tend to be lower.

3. Create a Mobile-Friendly Giving Page

It’s all about making it easy for people to give!

If you don’t think that you can optimize your entire site for mobile, then consider having a giving page that is optimized. This will allow your community to quickly find what they’re looking for and it will remove barriers to giving.

4. Host a Church-Wide Fundraiser

It might seem like something from days gone by, but the concept is definitely not dead. People are more likely to give when they get involved. Maybe your youth group gives parents a “date-night” by watching their children at the church. Or, you provide car washes to raise money for missions. Fundraisers can be as simple or complex as you choose for them to be, but they do almost always provide immense value.

Here are some tips for a car wash fundraiser to get you kick-started!

5. Integrate Text-To-Give into Your Church

Text-to-give is the easiest way to give. Your members create a profile in less time than it takes to write a check. It’s safe, encrypted, and incredibly easy. And, because second donations are done in less than 5 seconds, it increases repeat donations.

Companies like mobileAxept pioneered this technology and have developed some of the best and most effective solutions for text-to-give.

6. Seek Out Major Gifts

Church plants often receive large gifts to get started. But, pastors neglect this group over time, even though approximately 88 percent of contributions come from 20 percent of your givers. The 80/20 rule in economics also applies to churches.

For some, the gift of generosity is a spiritual gift and nurturing these high-potential donors is essential. The key is to listen to these individuals to find out where their passions align with the mission and vision of your church. Do not neglect these relationships, instead create a strategy to steward these relationships.

7. Set Giving Expectations for Donors

You might not think that this is something you can do, but it might not be as bad as it sounds. Consider explaining why and asking your church to give a specific amount of their income. Maybe all you ask for the first year is that each family commit to giving $1,000. This might not seem like a lot, but you could easily reach half a million just from asking this of your congregation.

8. Rhythmically Plan When You’re Going To Speak On Giving

Teaching on giving doesn’t happen as often as it probably could in the church. Planning a strategic and rhythmic plan for teaching regularly will help keep your giving numbers consistent throughout the year.

As a plus, it’s a great time to share the church’s mission and vision statements as well!

9. Thank Those Who Give

This one might seem elementary, but it’s so often forgotten. Do something special to thank those who give. Maybe you need to send a letter in July when no one expects a thank you for giving. Or record a video detailing how generosity has helped your church grow this year. You might want to step off-script and thank some donors from the pulpit.

Whatever solution seems right for you, be sure to remember the sacrifice that some people make to keep your church or organization alive.

10. Give Space For People To Share Giving Stories

Another great practice is allowing different church members to share some giving stories. These stories could include how God provided for their needs while giving or the impact that giving has had on their life.

Not everyone is wired to speak from the pulpit. Consider creating video interviews from your donors and highlight the difference they are making. In today’s tech run world, you can make a pretty good video only using your smartphone. You can even send out these video messages using a text notification tool such as ReachNow.

11. Communicate How Giving Helps Your Church Reach Its Vision and Mission

We touched on this one a little bit already but thought that it might be important to emphasize. Sadly too many churches don’t communicate how the money that is given is used. Whether that be a budget or showing a quality annual report. Make it a priority to show your people where their money is going.

12. Define Tithe and Offering

We recently published a post that helps explain some of the differences between tithing and offering. Defining the difference between these things to your church is very important. Limiting confusion is one of the keys to getting people on board for giving generously.

13. Offer Financial Classes

Many churches offer financial classes to help their members learn about budgeting and living debt-free. These classes provide a huge benefit as most church members that give are debt-free. One class that a lot of churches offer is Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Check it out and see if it’s right for your church. If not, then there’s always other courses that can help encourage debt-free living and generosity towards the church.

14. Show People, From The Platform, How To Use Your Giving Tools

Giving tools can be complex and challenging to understand for some of your community members. Taking the time to stop a service and show them how to use the tool is a great way to raise some awareness and make it easier for everyone. And, remember, show them the tools they can actually use at that moment. For example, during a service it doesn’t make sense to discuss estate planning giving, that conversation is best served over coffee. But, during service, it does make sense to share text giving as this is a perfect solution for the person who doesn’t have a checkbook or cash.

15. Create Giving Campaigns and Send Emails

Just like anything else, emails and campaigns can be a huge tool to create a lot of momentum with giving. Don’t be afraid to have some staff members head up a plan to take on a campaign. Give it a name and set a goal.

Email marketing is extremely successful, and it’s never a bad idea to send some emails to help spread awareness around giving! Work with your communications team to craft the perfect messages.

16. Set Goals for Giving on Holidays Such As Christmas or Easter

Create goals based on different holidays—whether it’s to fund something specific or reach a certain amount of money. Setting goals during the Holiday season can help you dramatically increase your numbers.

17. Show Your Community How The Money Impacted The Community

If you use some of the money raised to pour back into the community or to help different people outside of the church, then share those stories. A giving community loves to see the impact that their generosity has and they are more likely to give repeatedly if they are able to see the impact that their money has.

18. Promote Incremental Increases

Something that doesn’t get a lot of attention is the idea of increased incremental giving. This is one of our favorite giving tips! The idea is simple: if you follow the plan to ask your church to give a specific amount, then every year, you ask if they would increase that amount.

This also works for when you don’t have a specific amount you ask for. You could do it by a percentage or a dollar amount, decide what works for you and then tell your congregation about the idea the next time you’re teaching about giving.

19. A Day For Sacrificial Giving

Our last idea for this list is another one of our favorites. Some churches practice a day for sacrificial giving. On this day you ask your congregation to give an amount that comes at a sacrifice. It’s a day or a week where your congregation gives to their max and trusts that God will provide for their needs.

If you’re serious about increasing your giving numbers and you haven’t checked out online giving, then you really should. All of these tips are going to bring you results, but combined with online giving like GiveNow; the results are much greater.

GiveNow allows you to track your church’s giving in real-time and provides your community with opportunities to set up recurring gifts and give from their phones via text without ever having to log into an app or website.

Contact mobileAxept today!