The end is near so start planning now if you want to be fully funded in 2016 AND set the stage for a great start to 2017. Few churches think about end of year giving planning. Yet the last quarter of the year, indeed the last few weeks of the year can make or break your giving success.
24% of charities yearly giving comes between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. The end of the year is literally Christmas for non-profits. They work hard at crafting their message and communicating it to the list of donors they work. I started getting end of year appeals just a few weeks ago in the middle of September. They are already sending out appeals to your members do you have a plan for end of year giving?
Ending well is crucial just ask the Georgia Bulldogs. My daughter is a UGA graduate so I cheer for the schools I paid tuition to. Since the Ouachita Baptist Tigers are not on TV I watch my kid’s schools. Yesterday, as I write this, Georgia played Tennessee. They led until late in the game when UT finally went into the lead. Georgia scored with only seconds left to take the lead and it looked like a miracle finish. However on the last play of the game Tennessee threw a Hail Mary pass into the end zone and scored to shock the Bulldog nation. The outcome of the game was determined by the last play.
Two touchdown drives in seconds were engineered by both teams. Those drives were based upon plans constructed by the coaches and practiced endlessly by the players. You can argue that one team was luckier than the other but skill and planning were the foundations to any luck teams experienced. Each had a plan. One executed their plan better than the other.
Do you have an end of year giving plan? Few churches do for something as important as funding missions and ministry. Most churches simply hope that they will meet budget. As the old saying goes, hope is not a strategy.
I have an end of year giving plan called, “The Two Minute Drill: A Winning Plan of Action for End of Year Giving.” My goal is to help churches close the budget deficit gaps that they might have experienced over the summer. I lay out all the planning for you. I do all the work giving you a winning plan of action for effectively ending your year well.
“Our Church had an amazing and God-sized year-end in the area of giving!” That is what one of my clients wrote about my end of year plan. They saw…
- Largest amount ever given to our Ministry Budget during this year-end period.
- 20.8% above Ministry Budget giving in the same period last year.
- Capital Campaign and Ministry Budget combined was 27.7% above this giving during the same period last year.
- “Thanks for your partnership with us!”
Get your copy today at The 2 Minute Drill
Remember charities are fishing in your pond pulling your members monies to their causes. It is time to get your lure in the water!
The end of the year is near so now is the time to start planning. Let me help you!
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach