If you are going to be fully funded you need to know what the 21st century offering looks like. As I have written before here, the offering is not dead but it has changed. Today more than ever to fill your offering plate you must provide multiple options for people to give. One of my key mantras is…
Make it Fun and Easy.
The fun part is making giving meaningful. What I mean by that is helping people connects the dots of how a dollar given to your church can and will impact the world for good. We must tell our story connecting people to our vision before they will give you their hard earned money. That is the genius behind offering talks.
The easy part comes by providing multiple ways by which people can give. The easier you make it for people to give the more apt they are to give. If you only depend upon one source of collecting funds you are missing out on fully engaging your members and attendees.
One key reason why you MUST provide multiple means by which people can give is that attendance even among your most faithful is not what it used to be. The firm that I work capital campaigns through, Generis, recently published a new e-book entitled, “The Big Shift: Ways To Engage A Less Engaged Church Goer.” You can download a copy here The Big Shift scroll to the bottom of the page to get your free copy.
The Big Shift points out a new reality that people are attending church fewer times a month than in the past. Now a faithful member might only be in your services twice a month. Frankly with family and work that is about what I average. The reality is that you thus have fewer opportunities for an old fashioned offering plate to be passed in front of people. Declining attendance has traditionally meant declining offerings!
Go where your donors are! If you are seeing your major donors less then you need to be where they are. They are at the beach, the mountains, the lake, their kids sporting events, etc. Yet nearly every one of them even those high up in the mountains have their smartphones with them. How else are they going to post that selfie of them at the summit?
What does the 21st century offering look like? The 21st century offering must be…
Multi-faceted. The picture at the top says it all. Six ways to give. By providing multiple means of giving you make it easier for members to give thus increasing the odds they will give.
Digital. From simple one time donations, to text giving to automatic withdrawal in today’s world you must be digital. The Big Shift states that you should see at least 60% of your donations come through some type of electronic format.
Check out my online firm Charis Giving Solutions
Again, the offering is not dead but it has changed. Adjusting to the new reality will better help you keep your offering plate full no matter what it looks like!
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach