The Few Will Always Give the Majority

Here is an inescapable fact, the few will always give the majority of what is given to any church.  So, what does this mean for you?  Let me share with you a suggested plan of action around this truth but first let me establish why you need a plan of action for this key group of donors.

For the past 20 years I have been looking at detailed giving analysis from churches with budgets above $20 million annually to churches with an annual budget of around $100K.  One thing has stood out, a small fraction of any churches donors gives a majority of the money.  In fact our data taken from over 500 churches confirms that…

On average around 15% of a churches donors, gives half of what is given annually to the church.

In capital campaigns, half of this number will give half of what is pledge!

I was sharing this fact with a church that is considering hiring me for a capital campaign.  I used data from churches with a similar budget size to theirs.  Here is the data…

You can see from the above chart that while the averages vary, basically you find most are around the 15% number.  I wrote years ago about this trend calling it, half of the half will give half.  Your church is no different.  You have a few that are greatly impacting the whole of your church.

Why is it that the few give the majority?  I believe there are two basic reasons why.  First, it is economics.  God in his wisdom has not gifted all of us with the same financial capacity.  I don’t have the money of Bill Gates.  I faithfully give but how much I give is dictated by my income.  It’s simple economics.

The other reason is spiritual maturity.  Those at the top end of your donor pool are typically more spiritually driven to be generous than someone who just joined your church or is a recent convert.  I once heard George Barna say, “On average it takes three years to get a new member up to speed giving wise with your current donors.”

My counsel to churches is to work on each segment of your donors from those just joining to those who have been long time members moving everyone to live a life of generosity!  I believe generosity is a part of discipleship and must be continual taught into each and every segment of your church.

How do you impact the few?  We never encourage favoritism.  Yet when a few make such a vital impact upon your ministry why would you NOT build into their lives?  So, here is my recommendation on what you should do with your “few”…

Find time to meet personally with your few.  This is not a meeting to get them to give.  It is simply a meeting to build into their lives.  Ask about their family.  Ask about their business.  Ask what you can pray for them about.  IF, you build into their lives you will find they are more open to any future discussion of money and finances.  Don’t wait until you are in a capital campaign to meet with your top end donors.  I advise my clients to meet for lunch once a week with one from their list of top donors.

Pray for them regularly.  As a Senior Pastor every day in my office I had five cards of members on my desk that I would pray over every morning.  This allowed me over time to pray through the entire list of our active members.  My secretary would send out a letter a few weeks ahead of time telling them that on a particular day I would be praying for them that day and asking them what requests they had for me to pray over.  I would often write them notes telling them of my prayers for them.  These had nothing to do with money but it certainly increased the possibility of their continuing to give money!

My old boss John Maxwell is famous for saying, “Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.”  This is an essential component of how to lead your few to make a major impact with the gifts God has given them.  There is a reason they are in your church!

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach