Do More Ministry: August 2008 Archives

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August 29, 2008

8 tips for writing better fundraising letters

We are far enough along in the church year to begin to make some predictions (or "forecasts" to borrow from business vocabulary) about where we'll end up as far as expenses and contributions.

If you're one of the few churches who is collecting more money than you know what to do with this year, feel blessed. If you're like most churches, you have enough data to tell you that you're not going to collect all the "pledges" or donations you need to meet your approved operating budget.

The two most common reponses are:

Cut expenses for the remainder of the year based on what you think you'll realistically collect in donations for the reaminder of the year.

Become more strategic in making your appeals to sustain the work of the church.

One way many churches choose to "become more strategic" is by sending a letter to their members stating the situation and restating the dependence upon the person in the pew to fund the ministry of their church.

Most people who are charged with writing this letter feel overwhelmed and underprepared to do so. Reading over these 8 tips for writing better fundraising letters reminded me that keeping it simple is really the best approach.

We, as church leaders, should feel strongly enough about the ministry we committed to earlier in the year to make a strong appeal to the entire membership body explaining the situation and why ever dollar is necessary to fully fund the work of the body of Christ.

Have you ever written a letter like this? What was the outcome? Would you be willing to post your letter for others to review?

Posted by bstroup at 8:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 28, 2008

Stewardship and giving bulletin bloopers

Stewardship can be funny. Just print these in your next bulletin and test your church's reaction.

The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

On Sunday, a special collection will be taken to defray the expenses of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet, please come forward and get a piece of paper at the end of the service.

August 27, 2008

Free debt reduction snowball calculator

I noticed this free tool while browsing my blog feeds this morning. It seems very flexible and comprehensive. Plus, I like the fact that you can drive the calculations using assumptions that fit you and your family. This makes the plan "do-able" because it takes into account your own individual situation.

For those churches participating in the New Day campaign, this would be a great tool to have on your church's Web site.

FREE! Web Tool: Debt Reduction Calculator - Download a free Debt Reduction spreadsheet for Excel from Vertex42.com.

Posted by bstroup at 11:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 26, 2008

Churches increase use of online giving

LifeWay.com features a story about online giving, how churches are responding and what options LifeWay Envelope Service has to offer.

(I know this is a shameless plug. Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

Read other posts on e-giving.

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August 21, 2008

Guest Post: Connecting stewardship with church planting

I recently came across a study that was done in 2007 by the North American Mission Board Center for Missional Research regarding Church Planting Survivability and Health that provided some interesting insights on common factors of successful church plants. The study revealed, that the four most significant factors of a successful church plant included meeting expectations, leadership development for church members, involvement with a church planter peer group, and a proactive stewardship development plan. As summarized by Greg Penna, the study revealed the following related to stewardship:

• Instigating a proactive stewardship plan gives a church plant a 178% greater chance of surviving beyond five years than their non-proactive counterparts.

• Enacting a positive plan for engaging new members in stewardship is critical to helping a new congregation become financially independent .

• Implementing a stewardship plan in the beginning life of the church plant promotes financial health and independence.

Read a more detailed article by Greg Penna, Church Planting Team, NAMB, on stewardship.

Bill Townes' ministry efforts are made possible through your gifts to the Cooperative Program and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Read another post by Bill.

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August 19, 2008

More blogs needed on stewardship and giving

Duct Tape Marketing is a blog about marketing for the small business. It recently pointed out that 72% of online users read a blog and 36% think more positively about companies that have blogs.

What this means is that increasingly blogs are becoming a legitimate, viable means of communication with those who share an interest in or responsbility for any given topic. That should be a challenge to those of us who have been given the task for championing stewardship and giving within denominational and local church ministry.

We need more blogs on the subjects of stewardship and giving. These are essential topics that speak directly to the Church's ability to sustain and fund its ministry today and in the future.

I know there are more voices out there that frequently address these topics. I've searched and have only found a few voices in the blogoshpere. But I'm sure there is more out there.

What other blogs are you reading on stewardship and giving? Would you consider starting your own? It's simple, and we need as many advocates for these two subjects as we can possibly have.

(Note: If you're interested in starting your own but not sure how, let me know. I'll be happy to show you the way.)

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August 15, 2008

Church rejects donation from lottery winner

One church received nearly $1 million donation from a lottery winner and the pastor refused to accept it. Is he crazy, self-righteous or right on?

No doubt there has been a lot of pontificating related to this subject. Some church leaders are quick to puff up their chests and boldly proclaim that they would never accept money from the lottery--even if it came directly from a church member. Others say, "Bring it on!"

I remember learning about some of the town history while serving my first church--a small rural community. At one time in this town's history, there was a distillery that was the largest employer in the area despite it being a dry county. This debate was raging within the church during this time: should the church accept money from an organization or entity that seems opposed to its view points. One chruch member is attributed to saying, "I'll take money from the devil himself if I can use it for the glory of God."

It's an interesting debate. One that has yet to be settled today. What would you do?

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August 13, 2008

RULES AND TIMING OF CHARITABLE GIFT RECIEPTS

Note: I met Bill at a recent SDA meeting. After just a few days of interacting with him, I knew I had to find a way to capture his knowledge on the blog. What I think is really cool is that he gets to help new and small churches in North America with business administration and tax related questions--a service that once was only available to large churches who could afford a retainer agreement with a local CPA firm or a full-time staff person. It makes me proud to know that our CP dollars are contributing to this kind of ministry.

Question: Sometimes we have church members who bring in gifts at the beginning day of the new year and ask for contribution credit for the prior year. What should we do?

NEW IRS Rules:

In 2007, The Pension Protection Act of 2006 instituted more stringent requirements for substantiating donor gifts. Basically, the act now says that all cash gifts, (irrespective of the amount - no $250 threshhold) must be substantiated with
(In the past a donor could just keep a written list of their cash contributions)
(1) either a bank record (e.g. cancelled check) or a written communication from the charity (2) showing the charity's name, date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution (and a notice that the donor received no tangible benefit for the contribution). All gifts of $250 or more must be substantiated by an acknowledgement from the charity (a donor's cancelled check will not be adequate documentation).

Based on this new rule, your donor does not necessarily need your contribution statement to deduct their year end charitable contribution to the ministry (if gift is under $250), as long as they have their cancelled check. However, as a donor, they probably want to have that recorded on their giving statement to avoid any potential issues.

Timing of Contributions:

IRS Regulation Sec. 1.170A-1 Charitable, etc., contributions and gifts; allowance of deduction states that a charitable contribution "actually paid during the taxable year is allowable" as a tax deduction. What this means to the charity is that they should use the date when they actually take possession of the gift. For IRS purposes the key is when the gift is "delivered" to the charity. IRS Reg Sec 1.170A-1(b) says:

(b) Time of making contribution. Ordinarily, a contribution is made at the time delivery is effected. The unconditional delivery or mailing of a check which subsequently clears in due course will constitute an effective contribution on the date of delivery or mailing.

When the U.S. Postal service is used to mail a check, they are considered to be the "agent of the recipient" and therefore the date of the contribution can be considered to be the date that it was actually mailed.

Year End:

The only time the actual timing of the contribution is usually a concern is year end. This is also the time when most mission organizations are closed for the holidays, creating a unique concern for donors. In order to ensure that gifts are recorded in the proper time period, it is best to use the "U.S. Post office date on the envelope" as the evidence of transfer. I would not rely totally on the date on the check itself, because that can be written in as any date by the donor. But, any checks that are actually dated in December, but received in January would cause me to look a little more closely at the envelope to ensure that I record it in the proper period.

One option that many churches have found workable is to include an offering time in their New Years Eve Services. This allows any last minute donors an opportunity to have their gifts credited to the proper period and also allows members the opportunity to give an offering back to the Lord in expression of their thanks for what God has provided.

This document has been prepared by Bill Townes, CPA, MBA as a ministry of the North American Mission Board. You can contact him at wtownes@namb.net if you have any further questions. All information in this document is provided on the basis that while it is generally believed to be correct, the North American Mission Board assumes no liability for its use. This document is intended to provide churches, pastors, and staff with current and accurate information about the subjects covered. However, such information is not intended to be sufficient for dealing with a particular legal problem, and the authors and distributors do not warrant or represent its suitability for such purpose. It is being provided primarily for illustrative purposes. As in all legal and tax matters, if there are any questions related to specific matters, professional advice should be sought from a qualified attorney, CPA or other competent individual.

Posted by bstroup at 10:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 12, 2008

Free Webinar on Church Giving and Economy now On-Demand

If you missed the FREE Webinar last week that explored the impact of the economy on church giving, you can now view it on-demand and at your leisure.

It was one of the most informative Webinars I've been a part of in a long time. It offered a context to interpret what the general public (i.e. the people in your pews) is hearing about the economy in the newspapers and other media, an overview of how the economy has impacted church giving in the past and offers practical advice to church leaders on what to do next.

I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of this FREE resource. It won't be wasted time.

(Maybe you could watch it with your Finance Committee chairperson too.)

Posted by bstroup at 10:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 8, 2008

Giving and the Church Member Experience, Conclusion

We've covered a lot of ground in this series. Unfortunately, there is no detailed, step-by-step plan for you and your staff to follow that ensures you're providing space for your members to hear and see your vision, taste and feel the culture of the church and decide whether or not your church is the "story" they want to participate in by giving their time, talents and resources.

It really boils down to a "both - and" solution. As church leaders, we're responsible for providing spiritually formative, relationship building opportunities for our members, regular attenders and even our visitors. This funtion (often referred to as assimilation) is vital to church health and fostering a sense of ownership by the congregation that brings with it a sense of personal responsibility and accountability. Such behavior and feelings ensure fully funded and sustainable ministry both now and in the future.

The rest of the experience must be left with the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of your people. At some point, we have to trust that God will inspire the hearts of people to give generously in response to his Gospel and those who claim to be followers of Jesus.

Let me leave you with a few questions to consider:

1. Do you have an assimilation strategy for your church? Is it working?
2. Is the ministry of your church fully funded?
3. What percentage of your congregation gives of their time, talents and treasures? What's the plan to challenge others to do the same?
4. What story are you telling about your church? Could your members re-tell that story as if it were their own?
5. How often do you talk about total-life giving in your teaching and your preaching?

Previous posts in this series:

Giving and the Church Member Experience, Introduction
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #1
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #2
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #3
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #4
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #5
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #6

Posted by bstroup at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 6, 2008

Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #6

Law #6 is Church Members can't fake (or fabricate) sincerety of belief or commitment.

If giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment, then consistent, generous giving is an indication of sincerety of belief or commitment to your church. It's easy to find reasons not to give. And it's easy to fake a habit of giving but only for a period of time.

When you look at your giving records, do you see an increasing number of people consistently giving, a stagnate group of people consistently giving or a decreasing number of people consistently giving?

If you're seeing an increasing number of consistent givers, congratulations! Your doing all the right things to communicate your message, get "buy in" from your members who are in turn responding measurably with their financial support. (I would also guess that you've seen a rise in volunteerism and ministry activites.)

If you're seeing a stagnate group of people, then you know that you're doing almost all of the right things. The part of your plan that's missing is the replication or multiplication of church members who are learning the habit of giving consistently.

This is where most churches are today. And there is little energy spent on creating new givers or growing stewards simply because churches are meeting their budgets and satisfying their expenses. But that's not enough. Such a perspective is also short-sighted as replicating and multiplying givers creates more money for more ministry. The church doesn't have the option to say "that's enough" until Christ's return.

If you're seeing a decreasing number of people consistently giving, it's time to face the brutal facts. There is a breakdown in your stewardship development strategy. Again, the tough part is that too often churches wait until the giving decreases measurably before they respond aggressively.

I can't emphasize enough that giving is just one measuring tool; it's interconnected with how excited your church members are about the ministry of your church, their willingness to volunteer and take on leadership roles, how they talk about the church to their friends and neighbors, etc.

If you want to increase the ministry of your church, focus on growing stewards--people who give of their time, talents and treasures. This involves a holisitic plan that will ultimately create balanced, healthy church members and will result in balanced, healthy church growth.

Previous posts in this series:

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August 5, 2008

Free Webinar on Church Giving in a Struggling Economy

I just registered for a free Webinar exploring how church giving is being impacted by our struggling economy. It's Thursday, August 7th, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. I'm interested in hearing how they approach this very sensitive subject and what practical solutions they provide for churches to ensure that their ministry remains fully funded throughout this difficult time.

You can register here.

In the meantime, feel free to browse previous "Do More Ministry" posts on the same subject:
The economy and ministry in review
The Church emerging from a spiraling economy
LifeWay Research looks at economy and giving
Thom Rainer asks which economy are we trusting in
10 Tips for Fundraising in Tough Times
Will the economy impact church giving?
Ministry impacted when church giving drops

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