Top 10 most popular posts over last 30 days
I’m always curious what people are reading the most on the blog. I did a quick search on the top 10 posts over the last 30 days. That doesn’t mean all of these were originally posted in the last 30 days, but these were the most popular.
1. One of the funniest church music videos I’ve ever seen
2. Morning Star Church pastor talks about recent giving letter to congregation
3. 3 reasons NOT to increase your church budget in 2011
4. Tithing tricks you don’t want your members to know about
5. Individual charitable giving predictions for 2010
6. 8 ways to turn contribution statements into dollars
7. First-time givers: your game-changing funding strategy for 2010
8. Five ways to DECREASE giving in your church
9. 5 FREE technology tools for pastors
10. How important are the 30 seconds before you take an offering?
People can give more than you think
One of the greatest challenges I face in helping pastors fund the vision God has given them is moving beyond the impression that no one in their church has money. I hear it from pastors of big churches and small churches…
“We’re just a simple church made up of simple people.”
“We don’t have anyone in our church who has a lot of money to give.”
“Our people are maxed out in their ability to give.”
And every one of those pastors would be…WRONG!
God’s funding capacity is unlimited. If we serve in God’s church, then our funding potential is also unlimited.
The reality is that people give…
…at the level of perceived need.
…to causes and organizations that have a plan and demonstrate impact.
…to people they know, like and trust.
I have never met anyone who has run out of money because they decided to give. In fact, some of the wealthiest people I know are the most generous givers I know. And they don’t live the high life. Instead, they choose to live quiet, simple lives with quiet, simple people.
The people in your pews can give more than you think. Are you prepared to present a compelling plan that would cause them to direct those resources to your church?
Blackbaud predicts Top 10 trends for nonprofits
Blackbaud always produces some great insight and information. They recently released their Top 10 predictions for nonprofit trends. It was also highlighted in Fundraising Success magazine. Here they are:
- Donor pools will continue to change.
- Proving value will become more important.
- Fundraisers will acquire new skills and an entrepreneurial spirit to be successful.
- Social media will play an even more important role in engagement.
- Peer-to-peer fundraising will continue to grow.
- Donor stewardship will become even more important than it is now.
- Increased government regulations will have a greater impact on the industry.
- Nonprofits will move from a broad donor management system to a single support database.
- Relationships will still rule.
- Finding the right balance of online and offline presence will be critical in the coming years.
The one that really jumped out to me was #6: “Donor stewardship will become even more important than it is now.” I find myself talking with church leaders about this concept more and more. With increased competition for “share of mind and share of dollar,” churches will have to:
1. Tell givers that their gift was noticed and appreciated
2. Explain (in person) how their gift was used to make a measurable Kingdom impact
3. Leverage personal interaction native to “church life” to create a deeper emotional connection
The tactics and implementation of these three things will vary from church to church but must not be overlooked as essential to achieving the fully funded ministry budgets. When was the last time you personally told someone “thank you” for their gift?
Raising money will ALWAYS cost you something
The reason so many church leaders walk away from raising money is that it comes at a high cost.
Raising money is going to cost you…
Time….it takes time to share your story and you never get the luxury of only sharing it only once and only through one medium.
Energy…it takes energy to discover what God is calling your church to do or become.
Effort…it takes effort to develop a strategy and define actionable items that create results.
People…it takes people encouraging others to get involved and there will always be someone who will leave your church using money as an excuse for his or her departure.
Money…it takes money to raise money and you might need to look outside your staff for guidance along the way.
Of course, the ability to fully fund your church and facilitate eternal life change and spiritual formation should be worth whatever it costs you along the way.
But if the cost just seems too high and appears to involve too much work, don’t do anything different. Nothing bad will happen immediately. Over time you will help direct money and people to other churches who are willing to incur the cost in exchange for seeing the evidence of life change.
Raising money will ALWAYS cost you something!
The power of relevance in raising funds
I have been thinking a lot about a recent Fundraising is Beautiful podcast from Jeff Brooks: The power of relevance.
“Relevance doesn’t just happen. The thing that just happens is irrelevance.”
- Jeff Brooks
The greatest obstacle church leaders have to funding budgets and raising money is that they assume that what is important to them is important to everyone else. Church leaders are often so close to the situation it’s impossible to have any objective perspective. They live with a sense of urgency because they know all the details and fail to acknowledge that the people in the pew are busy and will quickly forget whatever appeals were made Sunday morning by the time they finish lunch that same afternoon.
If you’re honest (and bold) enough to admit that your direct appeals from the pulpit aren’t getting the results in the offering plate that you’d like see, take 22:03 and listen how Jeff Brooks unpacks the incredibly successful Haiti relief funding appeals from people who largely lived with little connection to this country and were largely not personally affected by this natural disaster.
Are you relevant? Wait. Don’t answer that question yourself. Remember to ask the person in the pew.
Gap widens between giving to religion and number of households
Someone asked me a question recently that I couldn’t immediately answer. I’m not one of those people who just creates an answer, but I am one of those people who will search for the answer until I find it. When looking to answer this particular question, I stumbled upon some data that I find highlights a growing concern that churches must take very seriously.
This data is from Giving USA’s latest publication: Giving USA 2009 The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2008
Note: The data below represents per household giving to religion. (You can find it on page 84 if you have a personal copy of the report.)
- 1988: Giving to religion per household was $902 and there were 91.12 million households
- 1998: Giving to religion per household was $879 and there were 102.53 million households
- 2008: Giving to religion per household was $915 and there were 116.78 million households
This data reveals that giving per household to religion only grew about 1.4% over a 20 year period while the number of households grew by 22% during the same period.
Given what I’ve seen after studying the giving habits church members, this is consistent with the widening gap between growth in attendance/membership and growth in giving. While many churches are seeing their pews full Sunday after Sunday, the number of giving units is declining. In some cases, the giving units – while in decline – are increasing their gifts. Nonetheless, fewer people giving – even if they are giving more – is not a sustainable church funding model.
This is A PROBLEM.
But as Tom Peters says, “The problem is not the problem. The RESPONSE to the problem is almost always the problem.”
Hope is NOT a strategy.
“Meeting” an amended budget doesn’t remove the need to know the giving habit/trends in your church. This is the only way to validate that the ministry investment decisions you are making are, in fact, creating disciples who are deeper engaged in growing, serving, and giving.
What action steps will you take today to get a grip on your funding model to ensure the money exists to accomplish the ministry God has placed on your heart?
Hint: If you don’t DO something, NOTHING will change. Worse…whatever growth you did achieve, you won’t be able to maintain.
Social media statistics confirm a shift in communication habits
I enjoyed reading Social media statistics to show your boss (or just encourage you) from my friend and social media guru Bill Seaver.
Two things jumped out at me almost immediately:
- The ladders represent a 180 degree turn around in social media practice and engagement.
- The number of participants, observers, or “spectators” has risen to 70%.
What does this mean for the church? If you’re not leveraging social media to communicate with your membership, the people in your pews CAN’T H-E-A-R YOU…or worse…they won’t even know you said anything in the first place.
Technology is changing the way we give
USA Today recently published Technology, social networking transforms giving. The research showcased in this article should be a wake up call for all NPO (and church) leaders. Organizational leadership no longer gets to decide how their donors will give and interact with their organization. It’s now the responsibility of the leadership to understand the ways and habits that are native to the donor.
This is a vital part of the new “normal” when it comes to charitable giving. (That includes giving to churches.)
“Over the next couple years, fundraising and advocacy will start to move online, and … traditional mechanisms are sadly starting to die,” Green says. He says “we’re at the beginning” of new techniques with “huge potential.”
Donors decide when, how, and how much.
No longer is it acceptable to have a “one-size-fits-all” approach to church giving.
Will your church adapt or will you ignore the shift and help fund another organization or cause…OUTSIDE the church?
My notes from Xpastor event with Brad Leeper from GENERIS
I had the chance to sit in during a panel discussion with Brad Leeper, Randy Ongie from Cogun, and THE David Fletcher from Xpastor.org last week. (Just a side note: Brad Leeper is a really cool guy. Maybe one day I will grow up and be as cool as he is.)
Brad offered some great insights. I want to share my notes:
- Mainline church are suffering the greatest. Innovative churches that are not directly affiliated with a denomination are more likely to have seen giving maintain itself or even increase in 2009.
- There is a sense that we have hit the new “normal.”
- More leaders are open to risk as evidenced by an increase in new venue openings, new hires, and staff raises.
- Lots of conversation about focusing on raising the operating budget instead of just becoming strategic when it’s time to build or reduce debt.
- Donors or givers are more volatile than ever. They are asking different questions, leaders have to be much more intentional with cultivating funds, and there is much more competition for dollars among those outside the church.
- Increase in conversation about balance sheet improvement in anticipation of building in the next 12-36 months. Banks are less willing to loan to churches. The numbers have to make sense in a conservative banking environment.
- Major gifts are back in play.
- General perception among the person in the pew is that the recession has changed their lifestyle…”sort of, but not really.”
- Donor or giver is demanding a ministry return on investment.
- Greater emphasis on a broad base of giving rather than crisis giving.
- Generosity is more incremental, small increases over time.
- More attention given to thanking those who give to the church. Average rule of thumb is to thank a donor seven times before asking for the next gift.
