Labor DayAs I write this Labor Day weekend is upon us and I want to ask you, do you have a plan for holiday weekends?  Every year we have at least two weekends of the year where the holiday falls on Monday, Memorial Day and Labor Day.  Your members thus have a three day holiday and your attendance will probably dip considerably on the Sunday before the official day of the holiday.

A cardinal rule of giving is that when there are fewer people in your services you will collect fewer dollars.  It never changes.  Year after year this truth impacts church giving.  Here is my question, if this happens every year without fail why is it you don’t have a plan to counter the decline in giving?  Let me share with you some reasons why most churches don’t have a holiday weekend giving plan.

They just don’t think about it.  Frankly most churches don’t think about giving period unless they are in trouble.  You had better start thinking about it as giving to the church continues to decline.

Most don’t know what to do.  I was taught a lot of things in seminary but how to increase giving was not one of them!

Many don’t think there is anything that they can do.  I think many churches just think it is what it is and they have to adapt to the decline in offerings that weekend.

Another cardinal rule of giving that you need to realize is that very few people make up a missed offering!   If they are not present they don’t give.

The question then becomes if people are gone on a holiday weekend how to we get them to give?  Here are some suggestions.

First, have online giving set up and made available for ease of use.  The easier you make it for people to give the more likely they will give.  If you don’t have online giving check out my company Charis Giving Solutions at:

http://charisgivingsolutions.com/

Next consider sending out a direct appeal letter on the Monday BEFORE the holiday weekend asking for a gift.  Make the case for why people should give to support your life changing Kingdom building work rather than simply asking them to help you make budget.  Also include a self-addressed postage paid envelope for ease of use in sending back a gift.

Finally, send out at least one email blast that weekend with a link to your giving page in the text.  Online giving is one of the fastest segments of giving in the charitable world.  I have helped churches raise millions of dollars with targeted email blasts.  A well written email sent in a timely manner can help you make up any loss of offering on a holiday weekend.

Do you need help planning all this?  I have a plan that can help you with all of this.  It is called Giving365.

Here is what you get with Giving365…
  • 24/7 access to me, The Stewardship Coach, answering all your questions and giving you personalized input.  No other plan does this!
  • Weekly offering talks written by me one of the first to ever start talking about setting up offerings to be impactful and meaningful.
  • Weekly live teaching.  Every week my members get to listen to me teach on key giving topics and have the ability to ask questions live!
  • Seasonal giving campaigns with detailed step by step plans.  I have plans for, summer, End of year, Easter and more!
  • Access to our sample filled webpages that provide letters, email blasts and many other pluses!
  • Plans that WILL increase your giving!

Try it for 14 days for only $1!  Go to https://thestewardshipcoach.org/2015/06/15/giving-365-introductory-special-14-days-for-1-00/

Let me put a plan together for your church!

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach