What are you looking for?
It’s important for you to think about getting new offertory donors. Fundraisers call this donor acquisition. It’s likely that the donor acquisition in your parish is running on autopilot, because that is the default setting. It’s what happens if you’re not doing anything intentionally.
I’m going to talk about donor acquisitions as a series of levels that you can ascend. You can mix and match different approaches, but they all have a central theme – asking for donations consistently and compellingly.
The levels
Level 1 – Offertory Autopilot
The offertory basket gets passed around at Mass, and the collection is brought up to the altar with the rest of the gifts. In this state, your DA program has a pulse, but it’s not doing much.
Level 2 – Donation Envelopes
Companies like Our Sunday Visitor can be brought in provide pre-printed envelopes that get mailed to every registered parishioner. This is similar to enrolling them into a direct mail program, although you don’t have to spend as much money on postage.
Level 3 – Online Monthly Giving
Connect your parish to the internet and begin to tell people to give monthly recurring donations online. This reaches out to younger parishioners who may not give regularly or at all, as well as increasing the average annual giving from current donors (a form of donor cultivation)
Level 4 – Talking About Giving
Actively communicating to your parish about your offertory collection makes a difference. You might mention it during the announcements, or include it in the bulletin. You’re very simply stating that donating to the Church is a good thing, and that people can give various ways.
Level 5 – Preaching about Tithing
Tithing is virtuous. Preach about it. Talk about the multitude of promises that God makes to those who give to the Church and to the poor. Help people to understand that their giving to the Church is actually an act of worship, a spiritual act that will bear good fruit in their lives.
Level 6 – Annual Stewardship Campaign
A focused period of talking about stewardship and giving with a general ask to the parish with pledge cards at the end. Campaigns can be as complicated or as simple as you want them to be. They effectively bring in new donors, as well as get them more involved in the Church. This is a big enough topic that it has its own section here.
One new offertory donor at a time.
You’ll notice that every level will require greater investment of time and resources on your part. Think about what you have and then make some strategic investments. Moving from level one to level 3 doesn’t require a huge investment in time and money, but it can make a big difference on the number of parishioners who are actively giving. Getting all the way to level six might seem impossible, but no doubt you can preach on tithing once in a while and announce your new online giving option.
Find the strategies that fit your parish and then implement them consistently. Asking consistently, and in the right spirit, can make all the difference in the world.
Looking for more articles on offertory collections? Try these:
- What is an offertory collection?
- What is the Tithe and why is it important?
- How will online giving increase our offertory?
- How do I increase offertory giving?
- What is ‘Almsgiving’ all about?
Check out The Fundraiser’s Playbook for a full list of fundraising articles.
Would you like to learn more about raising money for Church and Ministry? Check out Letters From The Almoner, now available on Amazon.com.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com, via Creative Commons License, no rights reserved.
