Before we jump in, register today for September’s FREE WEBINAR: Funding Your Church’s Future: A Step-by-Step Guide to Planned Giving on Thursday, September 26, at 2:00 p.m. EST.
Don’t miss this valuable opportunity to boost your church’s financial health.
It’s Time to Start Thinking About Year-End Giving
Already?
YES!
It’s never too early to start planning for year-end giving. That’s not entirely true—but now that it’s September, it’s definitely time to begin. There are two critical reasons for this:
- High-net-worth individuals often start considering their year-end contributions well before December.
- Great plans require adequate preparation—and that’s what we’ll focus on in this post.
What Are We “Planning” For?
If you’re like most churches, you probably have a year-end giving plan. Your plan likely involves reminding everyone during services to make their donations by December 31, maybe with a follow-up email or two. For many of us, that is the plan.
But here’s the thing: That’s not a plan. That’s an announcement.
Effective churches go beyond simple reminders; they build a year-end giving plan that engages people in a unique and specific way. Sure, a general announcement might work for those planning to give—but what about the rest?
What percentage of your church falls into the “planned giver” category? More importantly, how much generosity are you missing out on by only making an announcement?
From Mass Announcements to Micro Conversations
The key to effective year-end giving is segmentation. This allows you to transform a general message into a targeted conversation, tailoring your communication to the specific needs and characteristics of different groups within your congregation.
When it comes to giving, how you approach a non-giver should be distinctly different from how you engage a planned percentage giver. Year-end giving presents the perfect opportunity to speak directly to your segments.
Potential Segments for Year-End Giving Conversations
To make your year-end giving plan more effective, consider the various segments within your church. These could include:
- Parents of Preschool Children
- Parents of Middle or High School Students
- Empty Nesters
- People in a Small Group
- People not in a Small Group
- Volunteers
- Volunteers in Specific Ministry Environments
- People Who Have Never Given to Your Church
- People Who Have Given Less Than Five Times
- People Who Attend More Than Twice a Month
The more you segment, the more targeted and relevant your communication can be.
Example: Targeted Year-End Giving Communications
Let’s say you’re preparing a year-end giving email for parents of preschool children. You might say something like this:
“Kids cry at church. It’s been that way since the beginning. Most kids cry when their parents drop them off at the nursery—except at Woodstock Church. Here, kids cry when they have to go back home! That’s because we’re not just babysitting; we’re creating an incredible experience for preschool children.
If you give or serve at our church, you’re helping create a church worth experiencing. In other words, you’re partly responsible for those tears when it’s time to leave.
As we look to end this year well and start the next one strong, I want to ask you to consider a year-end gift. We’re already planning for 2025, and our dreams exceed our current budget. Your generosity could help us:
- Update our playground to become a destination for the community and improve your kids’ experience on Sundays.
- Add two new classrooms to manage our continued growth.
To make a one-time year-end donation, visit [website/give]. You can also set up recurring gifts using this link. Remember, we accept donations of stocks, bonds, and crypto in addition to cash donations.
Thank you in advance for helping us finish this year strong so we can start next year even stronger. If you have any questions or want to discuss generosity at Woodstock Church, please call us at [number] or email me at [email].
Thank you,
[Name, Senior Pastor]”
Now, for an empty nester, you might say:
“It’s common to hear pastors wish they had more kids in their church. Thankfully, that’s not a problem at Woodstock Church. Seeing parents and children fill our building proves that we’re accomplishing our mission: leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus.
Our staff has already started planning for 2025, and we’ve decided it’s time to upgrade two elements of our kids’ ministry:
- Updating our playground to make it a community destination and enhance kids’ Sunday experiences.
- Adding two new classrooms to accommodate our ongoing growth.
These projects fall outside our current budget. As 2024 comes to a close, would you consider making a one-time year-end gift to help us complete these projects early next year?
One-time gifts like these allow us to achieve more than our annual budget typically allows.
To make a year-end donation, visit [website/give]. If you prefer to set up recurring gifts to support our budget, use this link. Remember, we also accept donations of stocks, bonds, and crypto.
Thank you in advance for helping us end this year strong and start next year even stronger. If you have any questions or want to discuss generosity at Woodstock Church, please call us at [number] or email me at [email].
Thank you,
[Name, Senior Pastor]”
Segmentation Makes Information Relevant
As you begin planning for year-end giving, start with segmentation. Use these questions to guide your process:
- What groups or categories in my church would benefit from targeted communication?
- Are there specific needs or wants that year-end giving could fund? If so, do these resonate with any segments?
- What communication channels can we use to best reach each segment?
- How should we prioritize each segment? (Remember to suppress those who have already received communication as you move down your segment list.)
Give It a Try
Segmentation is one of the easiest adjustments you can make to boost year-end giving. All it takes is a little effort in segmentation and targeted copywriting.
If you need help, let me know. Every Church Accelerator Partner has access to my Funding Funnel Course, which includes a module on year-end giving. If you’d like me to help you create a robust giving plan for year-end giving and 2025, now is the time to start.
One More Thing…
You’re probably aware of our Church Accelerator Community. All our Partners have unlimited access to our resource section, full of courses, frameworks, supporting documents, and our new Custom AI tools (Sermon Outline Creator, Sermon Evaluator, Small Group Question Writer, and more).
Partnership begins at $149 per month, which gets you about $5,000 in resources. Don’t wait. Become a partner today.
If you’d like personalized coaching for you, a staff member, or your church, check out the Strategic Partner and Community Partner options. I limit the number of these options to maximize my investment in each church and pastor. Let me know if you are interested.
Leading With You,
