Many churches rely on regular tithes and offerings to fund programs and projects in their ministries. However, there are times when a stewardship campaign or unexpected financial challenges arise. While Proverbs tells us that, where there is no vision the people parish… (29:18) Where there is no money the vision parishes, could also be true.
Whether your vision is to build a new building or meet a missions’ commitment, here are four strategies that technology makes available and simple for you to utilize and keep your vision alive.
1. Goal
We all have a desire to measure things, and if we contribute, we want to know how our contribution adds up in the end. Simply showing a goal meter connects with our inner desire to make the needle move. A goal amount with a progress bar is a great way to display the progress of your campaign, and show how a contribution effects the outcome. Because we like our likes, we check up on our social media posts to see how they are preforming, a goal indicator tends to cause an invested giver to return to the cause to check on the progress and potentially give again.
2. Countdown
One of the best ways to encourage generosity is to create urgency. Adding an “expiration date” to your campaign can motivate people to give because we don’t want to miss out (FOMO). Or if the solution requires immediate need, such as relief supplies to a disaster stricken area, a countdown will motivate contributors more quickly. Studies have proven that a timed campaign is more likely to reach its goal than one that is not. The countdown timer tells your givers, “Time is running out, hurry!”
3. Matching
Help your givers double the effectiveness of their contribution by having a matcher. If someone is willing to make a considerable donation to your cause, a matching campaign will inspire givers as they see their contribution amount doubled or even tripled as they give! This also creates urgency and scarcity as the match may only apply up to a specific amount, after that the contribution is no longer doubled. This easily encompasses more people into the effect of generosity and can quickly turn a $5000 gift into a $10,000 gift. Finding a matcher is not as hard as you may think. Just as a donor would like to see their $100 gift instantly converted to $200, equally, a matcher prefers their contribution doubled.
4. Peer To Peer
Peer to peer fundraising is simply allowing someone else to raise funds on your behalf. Essentially, someone else is doing the promoting and footwork as the funds are received by your organization. This is incredibly helpful for organizations that may want to take individuals on a mission trip and the individual is required to raise or provide the funds. The individual has and manages their own cause, funds can be credited toward that individual’s goal. You and the individual can both monitor progress. This allows you to provide tools to make fundraising easier for them. Additionally, the birthday fund is another popular way peer to peer can be utilized. Rather than gifts, the birthday boy or girl can request for donations to their cause within your organization.
When you combine these tools along with good promotion, vision casting and social media, you not only cultivate informed generosity, your vision to change your community and the world comes within reach.
In the U.S. more than $2 billion is raised through online funding platforms annually. Generush allows churches, ministries and other no-profits leverage these tools without the high costs of these crowd sourcing platforms.
In addition to ongoing giving such as Tithes & Offerings, all four of these campaign tools are available with Generush and many of them can be combined to create dynamic opportunities for generosity. Put a robust suite of giving tools to work for your church or non-profit.
