3 Giving Campaigns Your Church Cannot Afford to Miss

Are you looking for ways to fundraise more effectively? Church campaigns come in a variety of flavors, but there are some concepts that prove much more impactful than others. Here are three types of church giving campaigns you can’t afford to miss. Each will include advice for the when, where, and how to ensure success.

1. Tithing Education Campaign

• Open the conversation about financial wellness.
• Educate donors on the Bible’s concept of tithing.
• Give donors resources to work tithing into their budgets.

As a church, donations center around fundraising efforts and one-off requests. However, your church’s financial wellness depends on the ongoing generosity of churchgoers. Even with recurring donations, informing your congregants about the bible’s approach to tithing is vital. They must know the role it plays in being a steward of His word. This is the only way you can improve the ongoing financial well-being of your church.

Running a successful tithing campaign isn’t easy. It takes weeks of services, letters, and outreach efforts to build your congregation’s understanding of tithing and its importance. However, when done correctly, a tithing campaign can help you convert countless non-donors and occasional donors into regular donors.

You will find the best success with your tithing campaign if you have an open discussion about household finances and financial well-being alongside it. Many of your congregants may not be in the position to give 10% of their income. After all, the average American has over $90,000 in debt.

Finances can be tough to talk about. As a church leader, though, it’s your job to inform congregants of what the Bible says about money, debt, and giving. Consider offering free resources to help congregants improve their personal financial situations during this campaign. This will help them connect to your church. They’ll also be able to see the light when it comes to paying debts, saving for their future, and finding a way to support your church’s efforts.

2. Project-Based Campaigns

• Focus fundraising on specific goals or projects.
• Quantify the impact to encourage contributions.
• Get donors involved past the initial gift.

Many churches run “church capital” campaigns that raise funds for general needs. You’ll likely find greater success, though, if you can base every campaign around a specific project or goal. Throughout the year, your church will probably have the need to fundraise for countless projects, be it mission trips, local community efforts, or church renovations. For the best results, your church should be thinking about and planning these campaigns months in advance.

When possible, these campaigns should coincide with the teachings and discussions of weekly services and involve concentrated outreach so that your congregation learns of the need and understands their ability to help. The key to successful project-based campaigns, though, is to set ambitious yet achievable goals. As such, your project-based campaigns should be timed at the right moment and built on a thorough understanding of your congregation.

By basing a fundraising campaign around a specific project or goal, you motivate donors to contribute by quantifying their impact and being able to show them real results on a given timeline. For example, if you’re fundraising for a church renovation, everyone will see the results of that renovation in X months and will know they played a role in contributing. Offering to put the handprints or names of donors into a new feature can further solidify the role they’ll play in bringing the goal to fruition.

While your church may still have the need for a general church capital campaign, the more specific and action- or results-oriented you can get, the more engagement you’ll see.

3. End-of-Year Giving Campaign

• Wrap-up the year on a strong note.
• Tailor the campaign to various themes throughout the final quarter.
• Meet and exceed your annual donation goals.

Nearly a third of all donations your church will receive will be given in the last three months of the year. The holiday season boosts giving by putting charity at the front of people’s minds, and the rush to meet thresholds for tax deductions leads to a major increase in gifts during October, November, and December. That’s something your church shouldn’t miss out on.

An astonishing 17% of giving happens in December alone. This is vital information since timing is everything. November and December tend to be the focus, but if you have the resources, you should run your end-of-year campaigns throughout the final quarter of the year, paying particular attention to fundraising themes that relate to Thanksgiving, Giving Friday, and the week of Christmas.

Your church can get a final boost to its end-of-year giving campaign by theming marketing on New Year’s Eve, presenting it as the “last day to give” and perhaps emphasizing the tax advantages. You can continue on New Year’s Day and in the week to follow, tying in to people’s New Year’s resolutions to be more charitable and help their community.

Ultimately, your end-of-year giving campaign will focus heavily on the holidays of the final quarter. With the right approach, end-of-year giving can easily exceed your annual fundraising goals.

Get More Out of Your Campaigns

Here at DonorWERX, we coach church leaders every day in analyzing metrics, tracking donations, improving the donor experience, and opening up the tough conversation about church finances. If these campaigns sound like they’d benefit your church, DonorWERX can help you Get started. In addition to our coaching, you’ll gain access to our donor-centric framework. This will include a suite of tools that will help you better engage your donors and ensure campaign success.

Interested in learning more? You can Get started with a free 30-minute discovery call where we’ll give you a handful of personalized methods to boost church giving over the next six months. Schedule your call today and start seeing the results you want.