Summer is approaching!
Vacation and travel: it’s the dreamy time of year that comes with a bit less structure. It’s a welcome reprieve for many and unfortunately a contributing factor the summer giving slump many churches and nonprofits have to negotiate each year. Even with good intentions, when many families miss church due to being out of town or at the lake, they often do not make up the tithe for that week. If you are a nonprofit or ministry, you may find a dip in giving due to donors holding back discretionary income to cover those vacation costs.
Now is the time to get ahead of the upcoming summer giving slump. You can mitigate the dip in giving by implementing these 5 tips to promote online giving and prevent the inevitable summer giving dip:
1. Be Upfront
It is quite possible many of your church members or donors are unaware of how giving may dip for your organization during the summer months. Let them know by what percentage giving typically drops for you. Let them know how you shift spending and efforts in order to stay within budget during these leaner periods. This is an easy way to illustrate cause and effect and allow the donor to begin to react/respond to your needs.
2. Extend the Invitation
In the nonprofit world this is called “the ask” it’s essentially your chance to make a direct appeal to your donors/church members on what your needs are and specifically how they can help. Remind your donors that online giving is available and that it’s the easiest way for you to received their donation – especially if they are travelling.
Have some slides available to show on Sunday of where the Donate button is on your website and a picture of the Giving Page. This helps remove some hesitation that some novices may have around online giving. Stress the ease, security, and benefits online giving provides.
3. Specifically Ask Them to Setup a Recurring Gift
Be specific and encourage your donors to set up a weekly or monthly recurring gift. It goes without saying, but if they plan to attend “Bedside Baptist” while at the lake this summer a recurring gift ensures their tithe still shows up. Let them know it is easy to setup and make changes to later should the need arise. In addition to the convenience for the donor, stress how recurring giving helps you to plan for the future and benefits your financial forecasts.
4. Testimonials
Encourage your key leaders to promote and talk about online giving. If you plan to heed the advice in this article and promote recurring giving for the summer, have a prominent leader talk from personal experience. Give them the chance to share how it easy it was for them to setup their gift and why they personally love having a recurring donation.
5. Let’s Get a Bit More Personal
Consider incorporating a video clip in your weekly newsletter, it’s an engaging way to connect with your donors and will help them connect with you more while away during the summer months. It’s a quick way for them to watch & listen to your updates and be reminded that even from the beach they can still get to online giving.
Start Now: Prevent the Slump!
June will be here before you know it, implement any or all of these ideas and see how it will help your bottom line during these lazy days of summer. Remember your church members/donors love you and the work you do and cannot respond if they don’t know the need Be bold and ask for what you need. You’ll be amazed at their response.