Your Christmas services are complete, and all the holiday parties have concluded. Even so, there is still work to do to close out the year strong for your church's finances. This season can often be one of the busiest times of year for church finances, but it does not have to be the most stressful.
Here are some year-end financial tips for churches.
If you do not have one yet, you need a plan for last-minute givers. Why? Well, 31% of giving happens in December, and 12% occurs in the last three days. Here are two ways you can make sure to engage last-minute givers with the mission of your ministry.
High-capacity givers want to give to a specific need that allows them to see the difference their gift makes. Giving to your general fund does not help paint the picture for them in this way. Therefore, it is critical to connect their desire to give to those in need by providing them the opportunity to give to a specific cause and not just to your general fund.
The second step you can take to engage last-minute givers is to communicate the cut-off date for giving to be counted in the current calendar year through a simple email message or announcement on the last Sunday of the year.
As the world moves towards digital, your ministry needs to be prepared to do the same. Is your giving platform customized for your church? Does it make giving easy on every device your members use? Platforms like Overflow can help you make giving simple while giving you the reporting dashboards you need to manage your giving data well.
Also consider the systems you use to distribute, fund, and manage team spending. The end of the year is a natural time to review whether your tools are serving your team or slowing them down.
Pray about what you would like to see your church accomplish in the following year. Is there something new that will need to be budgeted to meet that need? If so, does this mean another area will need to see the budget reduced?
What areas can you be more financially efficient in to be more productive as a ministry? Check the budgets you set at the beginning of last year and see what actual spending looked like. Examine with your team to see how better decisions can be made in the coming year.
Want a step-by-step plan for the biggest giving season of the year? Download the free Year-End Giving Playbook at buildthe.church.
