How To Use Last Year’s Giving Data To Plan For The Coming Year

Why Last Year’s Giving Data Matters More Than You Think

When was the last time you did an in-depth analysis of last year’s giving statistics? For some churches, it’s been a while since they did that kind of deep dive. Many churches have never gone through the process at all.

And it’s easy to understand why. As a pastor or leader, you are most likely future-oriented. You spend your time thinking about what’s coming, not what already happened. 

When budget season (everyone’s favorite season) rolls around, you look at last year’s giving numbers. You make note of the totals, trying to figure out whether your church is in the red or black (technically, churches shouldn’t be in either since they are non-profits, but that’s for another thrilling article).

Then you move on to planning and budgeting for the upcoming year. And, while you can create a balanced budget that is generally good without using last year’s giving data, it’s a mistake.

Because that data is more than a financial summary. 

Giving data is discipleship insight, not just financial information or demographic statistics.

It’s a window into your people. Their habits. Their giving tendencies. Their involvement in your church. And even their discipleship. 

And if you’re willing to look beyond the surface, it can become one of your most valuable tools for leading well in the year ahead.

Unfortunately, you and I can’t predict the future, except to say the Cleveland Browns will always be a terrible team. But you can use last year’s giving data to better plan for the future. 

Let’s explore what last year’s giving patterns can teach you, and how to use those insights to lead more effectively.

Your Giving Data Tells a Story 

It’s essential to look beyond your giving numbers to the people they represent. 

They represent families who gave sacrificially even though finances were tight. And seniors who have chosen to forgo financial benefits so they can give more. And teenagers giving from their first bank account. They represent single men and women who have elected to live frugally so they have more to give. 

Giving Reflects Trust, Participation, and Faith

When people give to your church, it’s because they trust you to use those donations in good, God-honoring ways. 

They’re not just funding a budget, although that’s certainly important. They’re expressing their faith in the mission of the church and those who lead it. They’re participating in what God is doing through your church. They’re saying, “This matters to me.”

So as you analyze last year’s giving information, remember that you’re not just dealing with numbers. You’re stewarding the finances your members have given. 

Attendance vs. Giving: What the Gap Reveals

When Giving Is Strong Even If Attendance Drops

One of the most important trends many churches have seen over the past few years is this: attendance and giving are no longer perfectly linked. For example, the PCUSA reported losing 48,885 members across all its churches in 2024. And yet in the same survey, they also noted that giving increased by 22% in 2024. 

In other words, church attendance, whether positive or negative, doesn’t always move in step with giving.  

There are Sundays when the room feels somewhat empty, but giving is strong. And there are packed services where giving doesn’t spike the way you’d expect.

This isn’t just a random occurrence. The giving information and attendance data tells a story.

When Giving Only Happens on Sundays 

If your giving remained steady even when attendance dipped, that’s a sign of healthy engagement beyond Sunday mornings. It usually means your members are giving during the week via your church website or app. 

If giving dropped sharply whenever attendance did, it can indicate that your church members primarily give on Sunday mornings during the collection. If this is the case, you’re either not using a digital giving platform at all or not in the right ways. 

What this means for the year ahead:

Don’t only plan for giving from people physically in the building. You need to offer multiple ways people can donate, like through a giving app and by text message. Your communication, follow-up, and giving options need to serve people wherever they are, not just when they walk through the doors.

Why Recurring Giving Is One of Your Most Important Metrics

Recurring givers are the members who have built generosity into their lives, rather than sporadically whenever they remember. They’re not waiting for inspiration from your annual sermon on giving. They’re going to give faithfully month after month. 

What to Look for in Recurring Giving Data

Recurring giving matters for several reasons. 

First, it can significantly stabilize your church income throughout the year. It gives you a baseline to expect each month and allows you to plan accordingly.

Recurring Giving as Discipleship, Not Just Automation

Recurring giving is also one of the clearest indicators of trust and buy-in. People don’t automate generosity unless they believe in the leadership and the mission. 

When you look at last year’s data, pay close attention to:

• How many recurring givers you have
• Whether that number grew or stayed flat
• The average recurring gift size
• How many recurring givers you retained throughout the year

If your recurring giving base grew, that’s a strong signal that your church has a culture of generosity. If it stayed flat or declined, that may indicate a need for improved messaging, clearer communication, or a simpler setup.

What this means for the year ahead:
Recurring giving shouldn’t only be a technical feature. It should be a discipleship conversation. Consider both aspects. Do you have the technology in place to handle recurring giving? And, have you spent enough time teaching about generosity so that your members want to set up recurring giving? 

Generational Giving Patterns Are Shifting 

Giving preferences and patterns are increasingly being segmented along generational lines. 

How Younger Generations Prefer to Give

Younger generations (think Millennial and Gen Z) in particular are far more likely to give through mobile devices, text-to-give, tap-to-give, and apps. According to a report by ZipDo, 55% of donors prefer to give through a mobile app, and 45% of donors give via text message. 

Younger people may give smaller amounts, but they often give more consistently. They value convenience, speed, and simplicity.

How Older Generations Engage Differently

Older generations (think Boomer) tend to give larger gifts and may prefer fewer channels. According to the report by ZipDo, the average age at which donors give their largest gift is 61.

Older individuals often respond more to traditional communication, such as email and even physical mail.

None of these giving preferences is better. They’re just different.

If you look at last year’s channel data, you’ll likely see clear patterns in how people prefer to give. And those patterns can guide how you communicate.

What this means for the year ahead:
One-size-fits-all appeals don’t work anymore. If you want to engage every generation, you need to meet people where they already are. That doesn’t mean abandoning traditional methods, but it does mean expanding your approach.

Seasonal Spikes and Slumps

Most churches see predictable giving patterns:

• Big spikes around Easter and Christmas
• A surge at year-end
• A dip in the summer
• A reset in the fall

But you shouldn’t settle for generalities and assumptions when thinking about how the members of your church give. 

Dig into the data to find the answers to these questions:

• Did giving bounce back quickly after summer, or did it lag? 
• Did year-end giving grow compared to the year before, or did it stall? 
• Did certain months underperform consistently?

Identifying Reactive vs. Consistent Generosity

These patterns can tell you whether giving in your church is fueled by a culture of generosity or in reaction to specific circumstances.

If people only give when there’s a big moment or a big need, it suggests that giving in your church might be reactive. If giving stays relatively steady across the year, that points to a stronger commitment to generosity.

What this means for the year ahead:
Use your strong seasons strategically. Plan initiatives when giving is naturally high. Even more important, make sure you have regular biblical teaching about generosity built into your Sunday mornings.

Campaign Performance: What Actually Moved People to Give

Not every appeal to give generates the same results. And that’s to be expected. Appeals to give regularly to the general fund don’t have the excitement and buzz of a special campaign. Sermons about giving tend to generate more results than simply mentioning it during announcements. 

When you look at last year’s campaigns, compare:

• Special projects vs. general fund
• Emergency needs vs. planned initiatives
• One-time appeals vs. ongoing emphasis

Which ones produced a noticeable response? Which ones didn’t?

In some cases, the difference isn’t the cause itself. It’s understanding how their donations will be used to serve God and further the church's mission. People give when they can clearly see the impact. They give when the vision is compelling. They give when the need is real and specific.

If a campaign didn’t do particularly well, that doesn’t necessarily mean people didn’t care. It may mean they didn’t connect.

What this means for the year ahead:
Repeat what worked and drop what didn’t. Also, work to make the connection between a person’s giving and how those donations are used. The more clearly people see the impact of their generosity, the more likely they are to give.

New Givers vs. Repeat Givers

It’s easy to make the mistake of always focusing on trying to get more first-time givers. And that does matter. Not so much because of the money they contribute, but because when a person gives for the first time, it shows they care about the church. 

But retaining givers matters just as much.

Why Retention Matters as Much as Acquisition

You need to strike a balance between appealing to new givers while also speaking to the faithful ones. 

Last year’s giving data can help you determine how well you are striking that balance.

If you had a lot of first-time givers last year but very few repeat givers, that’s a signal. It may point to weak follow-up, unclear next steps, or a lack of relational connection.

If you retained most of your givers but struggled to attract new ones, that may indicate a need for better outreach or clearer communication about giving.

What this means for the year ahead:
Build clear pathways from initial gift to faithful giver. Follow up. Say thank you. Show impact. Invite people into the story. Generosity grows in the context of a relationship.

Channel Usage: How People Want to Give

It’s not enough to know who gave to your church. You also need to know how they gave. Knowing which channels people used to give to your church can help you understand their preferences, as well if any tools are being underutilized.  

Look at how people gave last year:

• Online
• Text-to-give
• App
• Kiosk
• Check or cash

Which channels grew? Which declined? Which are barely used?

Removing Friction Across Giving Channels

If you notice that mobile and text giving isn’t as high as you thought it was, that may be a sign that your members haven’t been educated enough on the process to feel comfortable using it. This could especially be an issue for churches with older congregations who may not be as comfortable using technology. 

Lower than expected giving on a specific channel might also be a sign that it’s too difficult to use, and they are giving up due to the inconvenience.

People don’t want to think about how to give. They want it to be easy.

What this means for the year ahead:
Double down on the channels people already prefer. Remove friction wherever you can. The easier it is to participate, the more likely people are to be consistent. If a significant portion of your congregation struggles to use a specific channel, consider creating a tutorial. 

What Your Giving Data Says About Trust

This may be the most important insight of all.

Giving is deeply connected to trust. When people trust leadership, believe in the mission, and feel confident in stewardship, generosity follows.

Signs of Healthy Trust

• Consistent giving even during uncertain seasons
• Strong response to vision-based appeals
• Growth in recurring gifts

Warning Signs to Pay Attention To

• Sudden drops without a clear external cause
• Low response to campaigns
• Declining participation over time

If giving in your church isn’t where you want it to be, don’t beat yourself up. The point of looking back on the previous year is to learn what to do in the coming year. Not berate yourself for what you perceive to be ministry failures. 

What this means for the year ahead:
Be honest with yourself about the current levels of trust and giving. If you can see a clear failure that has created problems, take it to God and receive His grace. Then develop a detailed plan of how you will build trust with your members in ways that will lead to generosity. Include other leaders in this plan.

Turning Insight Into Action

This may sound obvious, but if you don’t take action on the insights you’ve gained, the entire exercise has been pointless. 

From start to finish, the goal should be determining what the data is telling you and how you need to respond. If you see that action is required, develop a plan to make it happen. 

Take the action steps at the end of each of the above points and use them as launching points for fixing problems and preparing for the coming year. Don’t do this as a solo project. Involve multiple people who serve in different areas of ministry in your church. Ask them to help you analyze the data and draw the right conclusions. 

Using The Right Tools to See the Full Picture

All of the above actions become much more difficult when your data is scattered across spreadsheets, disconnected systems, or manual reports. It can be really hard to find all the necessary information and then bring it together so that it can be evaluated. 

However, when you use a digital giving platform like Tithely, all the giving data is centralized and easily accessible. Trends are much easier to spot. You can sort the information to see it from different angles. 

It’s easier to make decisions, and your leadership can be proactive rather than reactive.  

And if you use a Church Management System (ChMS) that can seamlessly integrate with your giving platform (like Tithely!), you can really dive deep into the data. You can bring attendance and giving information together and get a clear picture of how they relate to each other.

When all your tools connect with each other, you spend far less time chasing information and more time shepherding people.

Prayer and Planning Go Together

Even with lots of data, you can’t plan for every possibility in the coming year. That’s why planning and prayer go hand-in-hand. Pray for God’s wisdom to plan and budget responsibly. Ask Him for clarity.

Then use all the information you’ve gathered to set yourself up for proactive, rather than reactive leadership. 

Paying attention to last year’s giving data can remove a lot of the guesswork from the planning process. And it shows you how people are engaging with your church. Where trust is growing. Where habits are forming. Where discipleship is taking root.

Faith and data are not enemies. They’re partners.

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