GIVING
COMMUNICATION
THANKING YOUR GIVERS
Last week we started talking about effective
giving communication, which started with revisiting the mission of the church.
When our focus is on money, we (and our hearers) are uncomfortable. I get
giving is money, but generosity is more.
Talking about what your church is doing and how
givers can help is far more effective than just asking for enough money to pay
the bills.
But we can’t take people for granted. Thank
people. We’re asking them to be generous; we need to be grateful as well. Go
out of your way to make them feel appreciated.
I think givers are often lucky if there’s a
brief paragraph from the finance chair in the bulletin or the newsletter
thanking “everyone that gave.” Even the giving statements are essentially
receipts and not thankful. Most giving statement shave lots of space. You know
that white space on the piece of paper? The statement contains the dates and
amounts of gifts; it gives the giver the total. But what if we also
talked about how their generosity made a difference. What happened because
they gave to the church? What lives were changed? What was the impact? Tell the
stories. It’s not going to cost any extra postage to write a few lines telling
the story and another line or two thanking people.
Do you remember the last thank you note you
received? Was it handwritten? Were you happy to receive it? I don’t know about
you but when I receive a thank you note, it means a lot. I probably didn’t give
to get it; but it’s wonderful to receive. This could be a task for pastors, or
for Finance team members or other leaders in the church. It doesn’t mean
telling everyone how much the person gave. We’re thanking them for their gift. It’s
that gift, coupled with other gifts, that is making the difference.
·
Thank
them
·
Tell
them what has been accomplished because of their generosity
·
Sign
your name
It continues to be a lot of work, but the
benefits will continue to pay off! For the next couple of weeks, I will continue
to spend time on how some of this could work and things that we could be doing
to change our stewardship focus and our discipleship focus.
If you wish more information on anything
you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com. I’d be happy to help.
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