How Your Budget Can Significantly Alter Your Church’s Culture
Jason Young and Jonathan Malm, authors of "The Come Back Effect," share the one thing that will alter your church's culture for better or worse.
August 8, 2018
by
My wife loves fitness. She’s one of those CrossFit fanatics. Her idea of a good workout is bloody blisters on her hands and a dull ache in her lower back.
I value working out, but I value it in the sense that I think it’s a cool thing to do. My idea of working out is going for a light jog when the weather is nice.
I used to tell my wife how much I appreciated and valued her interests. But I refused to pay the $160/month that CrossFit demanded in order for people to join their cult. Yet I was perfectly fine with paying monthly fees for cable, audiobooks, new gadgets, and other toys that were “necessary for my business.”
Would you believe my wife wasn’t buying it that I valued her interests? She didn’t believe I valued her love of CrossFit until I was willing to put my money where my mouth was. Until I put cash on the table, my words were empty.
Some say to “put your money where your mouth is,” but Matthew 6:21 expresses it like this: “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” The point is, you don’t really value something until you’re willing to put your money behind it.
For many ministries, the come back effect is more of an aspirational value than a present value. They would like to create a compelling environment that makes second- and third-time visits the norm, but they aren’t willing to devote the resources necessary to make it happen. The only way an aspirational value becomes a present value is when money backs it up.
Most churches would say they value these three things equally: service production, family ministry / small groups, and making guests feel welcomed. Yet if you looked at their expenditures over the year, percentages might look something more like this:
Service Production: 60%
Family Ministry / Small Groups: 35%
Guest Services: 5%
And you can bet that the staffing ratios would look similar. Yet it takes just as many volunteers—if not more—to make guest services work well at a church.
You see, if your ministry values the come back effect, it will leak over into everything. Your money will go there. You’ll staff it. You’ll give them priority.
Businesses have long known this principle of putting money where you want the growth. A business doesn’t just start spending money on advertising once they have a bit of excess cash. No, they put money into advertising in order to get the extra cash. You have to put money into the areas where you want growth.
The crazy thing is that in a church, nobody really cares about the music or the family groups if they had a bad experience walking in or walking out. They probably won’t be back if they didn’t feel cared for by the people—if hospitality wasn’t part of the church culture. And people will see if hospitality isn’t in the culture of a church, even in the little things.
Those little things start with how the ministry organizes its priorities.
Create a culture, not a job title
In a typical church, you might see a staff meeting that looks like this:
Service Director: We need a new display for the back wall so our singers don’t have to worry about forgetting the lyrics to the songs on Sunday. It’ll cost around $5,000.
Decision Maker: Let’s buy it.
Family Ministries Director: We need to buy new curriculum for our kids’ ministry and small groups. Our current curriculum is boring and outdated. It will cost $10,000.
Decision Maker: Make it happen!
Guest Services Director: I want to feed all our volunteers on Sunday mornings. I was thinking about catering some sandwiches from a local deli. It should cost $100 each week.
Decision Maker: That sounds like a lot of money. Can we just buy them canned sausages instead?
Okay, perhaps it isn’t quite that drastic. But the same sort of attitude happens in churches all around the country.
Show me your budget items, and I’ll show you what your organization truly values. If you want hospitality to stop being just a department in your ministry—and if you want it to become a strong cultural value—you need to put your resources there. You need to value it with more than just words.
Editor's Note: Taken from The Come Back Effectby Jason Young and Jonathan Malm. Published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Copyright (c) 2018. Used by permission.
Why Write Church Donation Letters?
In a previous blog post, I shared the different ways your church can thank donors—from automated emails to year-end giving reports. Printed donation letters also play an essential role in your church’s stewardship efforts.
Donation letters are the Swiss Army knife of your church’s gratitude arsenal. It may not be the most powerful—but it’s versatile, handy, and gets used often.
Your basic church donation letter can serve many different purposes, including:
Acknowledging that you received a donation
Thanking the giver for being generous with their finances
Sharing other ways the person can support your church
Allowing the donor to write the gift off on their taxes
A single, well-crafted donation letter can pull together several of these things simultaneously. Better donation letters lead to more giving, which leads to more donation letters—thus creating a cycle of on-going church generosity.
Church Donation Letter Samples
Here’s the good news—you don’t have to write an individualized letter for every person who gives to your church. That would be tough to do for even smaller churches. And most donors don’t expect you to. They’d rather you be putting their gift to better use in the community, instead of ceaselessly writing thank you notes.
With the possible exception of some unique circumstances, your church can use template language for the majority of your church donation letters. You’ll have to add in custom details like the donor’s name and gift amount, but you can write everything else in advance.
To make this even easier on you, here are a few basic church donation letter templates you can copy and paste. Keep in mind that not all of these have to be in print—you could just as easily turn some of these samples into email appeals.
1. Donation Acknowledgment Letter
The Donation Acknowledgement Letter is a basic way you can confirm and affirm a monetary gift to your church. Sending these is standard practice in church and nonprofit culture.
Dear [first name],
I want to personally thank you for your donation of [gift amount] to [church name]. We’re honored you would bless us with your generosity. Donations like yours make a big difference in the work our church is doing in the community.
Without givers like you, our church can’t have an impact or influence in our community. With your support, we’re partnering with local nonprofits, sending out global mission trips, and hosting small groups on topics that help real people like you. Together, we can make a difference.
Because we’re a tax-exempt nonprofit, you also get to write this donation off on your taxes. This letter serves as official proof of your donation, so keep it in your records come tax season. At the end of the year, we’ll also send you an annual recap with how much you’ve given to the church.
Thank you for supporting [church name]!
Sincerely,
[your name]
2. Donation Request Letter
Not every church member realizes the importance of giving, or understand Bible verses about tithing and giving. So a Donation Request Letter helps to spread that awareness and encourage a spirit of generosity.
Dear [first name],
How are the finances in your household? That was a rhetorical question, so you don’t have to answer—besides, this is a letter so we wouldn’t hear you anyway. But we still want you to think about that question.
Money is a uniquely human issue, one we all struggle with to one degree or another. Even if you’re financially blessed, you still have the burden of stewarding your money wisely. And we believe that one of the best ways to invest your money is into the local church.
Tithing (giving 10% of your income) on a regular basis not only supports the work we do at [church name]. It doesn’t just support local missions and community growth. It also shows an obedience to God by making his work a financial priority in your life.
So if you find yourself ready to put God first in both your heart and your wallet, we encourage you to make a one-time gift or sign up to make recurring donations. That way, you won’t have to ever wonder again about the financial status of your household.
Sincerely,
[your name]
3. Monthly Giving Letter
Many church donations aren’t just one-time gifts. Plenty of givers contribute monthly—and that should be acknowledged.
Use this template to correspond with recurring givers.
Dear [first name],
Thank you for being an active and faithful member of our church community. By giving to our church on a monthly basis, you’re showing that our church has a meaningful place in your heart. We just wanted to write this to let you know that you’re in our heart, too.
Donating to the church monthly allows us to preach the gospel, make disciples, and support others in our community who need help. Others like the local food bank and the nearby homeless shelter. We’re answering the cry of the needy, and it’s all thanks to contributors like you.
We earnestly appreciate your ongoing support and want to let you know we’re here for you. If there’s ever anything we can do for you and your family, don’t hesitate to reach out. You are a valued member of our church family. And you’re financial support is making a difference.
At the end of each year, it’s customary to give your church supporters a summary of their gifts. The primary reason is for tax purposes, but it’s also a way to recap everything your church has done over the past year with their support.
Dear [first name],
You’re getting this letter because you gave to [church name] at some point during the past year. That might have been a one-time gift, or recurring donations. Either way, we want to thank you for your generous support. Every contribution helps.
One of the official reasons for this letter is for tax purposes. That’s right—you get to write these donations off on your taxes. Which is why we’ve included a summary of all the contributions you’ve made to our church this year.
But the other reason for this letter is to let you know what we’ve done with the money you gave. We take stewardship very seriously, which means we value spending our time and resources wisely.
During the year, our church supported local nonprofits, sent global missions teams, and baptised quite a few people. It was a great year for us—thanks in large part to donors like you.
So thank you for your support of our church, and we hope you’ll consider continuing to contribute to our mission in the coming year.
Sincerely,
[your name]
5. Church Fundraising Letter
Sometimes you need to make a more significant financial push using tried and true church fundraising ideas. Some churches call this a Stewardship Campaign or a Church Capital Campaign. Either way, the goal is to raise a certain amount of money for a big project. And typically, a solid letter of appeal is an integral part of that.
Dear [first name],
God has a plan for everyone and everything. That includes you, and it includes [church name]. None of us can fully know God’s plan—the best we can do is pray and listen for clarity. Our church leadership has been doing just that and are excited to announce our latest church project.
[Detail the outline of the major church project—this could include a building campaign, or raising support for a global mission trip. Anything specific to your church that requires a fundraising letter. Be sure to include a fundraising goal so everyone knows what you’re shooting for.]
But we can’t pull this off without your support. Whether you give to the church on a regular basis, or just attend on occasion, we’re asking you to consider contributing to this massive undertaking prayerfully. It’s something we need our entire church community’s help with.
Even if you can’t make a large gift, know that every little bit helps. It’s more about coming together as a community united behind a common cause. We hope that you’ll consider making a donation towards this great step forward that we’re making together.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Tips when writing church donation letters
It’s not enough to just copy and paste this content and send away. The key to an effective church donation letter is a touch of personalization. Follow these tips to take your donation letters to the next level:
Examples: Add specific examples of how your church will use the donation. Tell a story about the work your church is doing in the community and connect that with giving.
Personalization: For regular donors, don’t be afraid to add a short, handwritten personal note. This shows that you’ve singled them out with praise.
Timeliness: Sending donation letters quickly reminds people you’re thankful for them. But this also takes organization and efficiency. All the more reason to use pre-written templates.
Storytelling: Everything is better with stories—including donation letters. Weave in a specific narrative of how your church is making a difference and how the money will be used.
There’s no one right or wrong way to write a donation letter or request contributions. You’ve got to do what is right for your church and congregation. But if you stick to these general tips, you’ll probably start to see some traction when it comes to giving.
What’s next?
Most people don’t love talking about money in church. But it’s a necessary and vital part of your church. And maximizing your efforts when it comes to donation letters will help make those conversations more comfortable. So what do you do next to put this into effect?
Customize these letters: Take the samples above and make them work for your church. Personalize the content. Remove the stuff that doesn’t sound genuine and add in stuff that does. Remember that these are just a starting point.
Create some systems: Develop processes that make it easy for you to replicate sending donation letters. Use a letter template that allows you to drop in names and details. Then develop guidelines for when these letters will be sent out.
Empower a champion: Find out who is going to be responsible for making these letters happen. Rather than thinking of this as adding more work to their plate, think about how you can elevate their work. This could be a staff member, or a volunteer.
Start sending: All of this will be for nothing if you don’t actually send out the letters. Take the time to get it right and get them into the hands of your church donors.
And if you’re looking for ways to grow your church’s giving capacity, Tithely can help.
We provide several different ways your church members can support your church financially—from online giving, text to give solutions, and giving kiosks.
Tithely’s systems make it as easy as possible for people to give to your church. Now all you need to start doing is generating a culture of gratitude. There’s nothing standing in your way. Go unleash generosity in your church.
How does your church use donation letters to spread generosity? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
.jpeg)