How Year-End Giving Can Benefit Your Church

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Year-end giving is significant for most churches and nonprofits by providing approximately 30% of annual giving in December alone and 10% of annual giving in the last three days of the year.1 Total giving has increased by $43.73 billion between 2019 and 2020, with 28% of those funds given to faith-based organizations. Of those funds given to faith-based organizations, 17.7% of gifts were made online.2

As you plan for the end of the year, generosity, and stewardship campaigns, and the 2022 budget, there are several opportunities to consider: 

  1. Continue giving conversations with weekly offering moments that highlight how the generosity of your congregation is funding and making ministry possible. Be specific about how their giving helps and share stories of the lives impacted and changed because of it. According to a 2020 survey completed by over 5,500 church leaders, 61% said they have continued to talk about giving as much as they did before COVID, 22% talk about giving more, and 15% talk about giving less.3
  2. Share different giving options available at your church like giving online through your website, giving to an annual campaign, making planned gifts, and giving stocks and bonds to the church (through the Foundation) that have greatly appreciated and have the ability to give more than initially invested. For more ways to give, click here.
  3. Send emails the last week of December encouraging year-end gifts. In these emails, be sure to thank your congregation for ways they have already given and tell them about the impact their gifts have made throughout the year. End the email with the current needs of the church and how individuals can give by visiting your website, by sending gifts to the church office, by placing gifts in the offering plate, etc.
  4. Send an email early in the new year that both thanks your congregation members for year-end gifts and highlights projects and ministries that were funded because of their generosity. 
  5. For more tips, tools, and resources, join us on November 2nd as Chris Stovall talks about knowing how to use Giving Tuesday and year-end giving to benefit your church. Click here to learn more.

1. https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/

2. https://resources.generis.com/hubfs/TAS/Charitable%20Giving%202021.pdf?__hsfp=3719815852&__hssc=251652889.1.1632491176378&__hstc=251652889.247ed54b17190715a4f6cff75f421bb5.1632491176378.1632491176378.1632491176378.1 

3. https://get.tithe.ly/blog/church-giving-survey-year-end-giving