There are 2 deadly mistakes that churches make with their donors that are easily corrected.
Since this week is Thanksgiving I thought I would write about one of the biggest mistakes churches make in raising funds, taking their donors for granted and failing to thank their donors. I am often amazed at how poor the average church is at simply expressing appreciation to donors who foot the bill for all the church does.
A few years back my wife who supports the non-profit organization Smile Train came into my office with a letter and asked if I wanted to see how non-profits treated their donors? She held in her hand a nice card with a very simple note that thanked her for her support. It included glossy pictures of children the group had helped as a result of her gifts. While I cannot say that she continues to give because they showed gratitude for her gift it none the less did not hurt. It pointed out clearly the two deadly mistakes churches makes when it comes to their donors.
Here are the two deadliest mistakes along with two lessons to learn and then practical ways to combat these mistakes.
Deadly Mistake Number One: Taking donors for granted. Too many churches just assume that members will give. Of course your members are supposed to give. Of course it is a biblical requirement. Of course it is our obligation. You however should not take that for granted.
Thirty six years ago my wife married me. She loves me, faults, there are many, and all. As Christians we understand that we are obligated to love one another. Yet it would be a tragic mistake if I did not continually tell her I loved her and worked to show her by my actions that I love her. I assume she loves me. I will never take her love for granted.
When I was a Senior Pastor I had a man come to see me to explain why he and his wife were leaving our church. He had come to know Christ while listening to me preach one Sunday. I was stunned. His reasoning further stunned me when he said, “You never tell this congregation that you love us.” Of course I loved them! I had however made a cardinal error. I had assumed that they knew I loved them. Assumption is a nasty disease that will hurt you.
Lesson Number One: Don’t take your members donations for granted!
Deadly Mistake Number Two: Never saying thank you. Have you ever held a door open for someone and they never thanked you but simply breezed through like that was what you were supposed to do? How did it make you feel? It probably caused you to be slightly indignant. It might have even made you question ever holding open another door.
If you never acknowledge the donations made by your members you give them the same misgivings. Never saying thank you is much akin to taking donors for granted. Together they can combine to make a one two knockout punch to your ministry.
Lesson Number Two: Continually thank your donors!
I wonder how many gifts are lost because we take for granted that people will give and then when they do give we never say thank you? Don’t make these mistakes in your ministry.
What is wrong with saying thank you? Everyone appreciates being appreciated.
Here are some thoughts on giving your donors thanks and appreciation.
- Write a personal note to your most significant donor’s simply saying thank you.
- Consider sending a small book as a token of appreciation. You might sign the copy with a word of thanks for their support.
- Make sure in all your giving statements to all donors you express thanks for their gift no matter how small it is.
- When significant gifts come in write a personalized note expressing thanks for what their gift means for accomplishing ministry.
- Periodically during the offering spend time telling what gifts to your church accomplish and thank those that give.
Hopefully this will give you some ideas of your own. The goal of this post is to get you thinking about how you can express thanks to your donors. So as you pause this week to give thanks for all God has done for you why not take some time to thank those who help fuel your ministry with their gifts?
Mark Brooks- The Stewardship Coach