By Erik Ely, Generis
I am not much for making New Year’s resolutions. When it comes to teaching the people in your church or organization about giving and generosity it seems like it would be well worth making some resolutions. Here are some resolutions that I would recommend.
I am going to thank first time givers
This is probably the easiest thing to do in a church or non-profit, but I am always surprised at the people who do not write a thank you to a first time giver. Write a hand written note that says “Thank You for giving. It is my understanding that this is the first time that you have given to … You’re giving will help us continue to do. . .” This should be hand written by the highest-level person possible in the organization or church. For most organizations or churches, this should be the Executive Director or Senior Pastor. This is not a task that should be delegated.
I am going to do the offering moment differently
This one is specifically for churches. Churches are the only non-profits that have their donor base in front of them 52 times a year. This is an incredible opportunity to be creative in your communication. This should always be tied in with telling the church vision, but doing it through story. You need to put flesh to your vision, bring it down to an understandable level. Very few of us can understand what a billion dollars looks like, but most all of us know what a hundred or even a thousand dollars looks like. When we take the vision and communicate it in such a way that it becomes low hanging fruit for our donors people will start to get it. That is when we get spontaneous applause during the offering moment. When was the last time someone shed a tear during the offering at your church because of what was being communicated?
I am going to send out Quarterly Giving statements
Quarterly statements are important for two reasons. First, it is a simple reminder to people about their giving and where they stand for the year. Often time churches and organizations see a spike in their giving right after the statements have been sent out. Secondly, with the addition of a well-constructed cover letter it will be an additional opportunity for you to communicate the great things that are going on in your church or organization. To get the latest information on how to write a great giving statement you can download free eBook here.
I am going to tell people our vision through story and tie it to their giving.
I have spent over twenty years in leadership in a variety of organizations and nothing can be more frustrating than trying to communicate vision. As leadership and staff, you live and 
breath the vision of the organization or your church and you assume that everyone else does as well. You could not be more wrong. A vast majority of people who come to your church are spiritually apathetic and luke warm. A lot of time they come out of some sense of obligation not out of a desire to change the world. Vision is not even a second thought for them. Therefore, we must communicate in a way that they can grasp it. Tell a story of life change or church/organizational impact. Make sure to tie it in with their investment of time (serving) and resources (giving). It should sound something like “This is the kind of thing that happens when you invest of your time and resources here at . . . “
I am not going to approach generosity this year the same way I did last year
If you only make one resolution this year make this one. I continually run into organizations that have been struggling in the area of donor development or giving for years. Yet, year after year they keep doing the same thing and expect it to work magically all of a sudden. Instead of trying to change your donors maybe it is you, the leader, that needs to change first. Become a student of generosity. No one, whether it is in the church or any other non-profit, wants to feel like a transaction. They want their giving experience to feel transformational, but often times that transformation begins with the senior pastor or executive director.
I am going to hire an expert (Keep reading)
I know what you are thinking; this seems a little self-serving. As a former Executive Pastor of a church, I hired an expert to come in and help us with our giving and it paid off. Therefore, before you dismiss this last one I practiced what I am preaching to you and it worked. In our church, our giving went up significantly the first year. It more than paid for the investment of hiring an expert to come in.
The reality is most pastors or Executive Directors do not have the desire, capacity or training to be very good at resourcing their ministry or organization. There is too much at stake to ignore this area. Look at this as an investment in you and your cause.
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