Six tips for fundraising through a pandemic
Pastor Miguel Gomez-Acosta, Director for Evangelical Mission with the Grand Canyon Synod, shares six tips for congregations—along with other resources—from a recent GSB Fundraising presentation.
On March 25, 2020 the Rocky Mountain Synod invited me to be a part of a presentation entitled Fundraising Through a Pandemic, given by GSB Fundraising and Nonprofit Consultants. This is the firm that will be leading Stewardship for All Seasons for five Grand Canyon Synod congregations later this year.
Here is a summary of what they recommend congregations do to continue healthy stewardship practices during this time of uncertainty:
1) Don’t stop inviting people to be generous.
It is tempting to pull back from asking congregation members to give because we might assume people are too afraid to give. The reality however is the opposite. People are more willing to give during times of crisis.
2) Be in contact with your congregation’s top 10 givers.
Since top givers are already being very generous, it is important that they know that ministry is still happening during this time of crisis. Invite these generous givers to consider giving a little more so that the good ministry of the congregation continues.
3) Check in with the congregational council.
Council members have already committed to being generous with their time and talents for the sake of the congregation. Invite them to maintain and even raise their giving during this time.
4) Transition to electronic giving.
There are some congregations who have yet to take advantage of modern technology. This social distancing time is the perfect opportunity to begin to experiment with electronic giving. There are many ways to do this, but the ELCA and Grand Canyon Synod have two preferred vendors to recommend, Vanco and Tithe.ly.
5) Maintain offering time during online worship.
People are used to having an offering time during worship, and there is no reason to not continue doing that. During your streamed worship take 5 minutes during the offering part of the service to invite people to give online and provide links for them to do so. If you send stamped envelopes to people who don’t do online giving, invite them to write their check during that 5-minute pause.
6) Communication is crucial.
Communication is imperative during this time because people need to hear that ministry is still happening. Telling outcome stories, also known as impact stories, helps givers know that their generosity is making a difference.
These are uncertain times since things keep developing every hour. Yet we are reminded that our God is constant. The fact that we are not physically worshipping together does not mean that we stop being disciples of Jesus. Stewardship is a significant part of our discipleship journey. We need to continue to invite and encourage generosity in our communities. Our continued generosity during this time will ensure our congregations future in the post- COVID19 time.
May God keep us safe and healthy.
Pr. Miguel F. Gomez-Acosta
Director for Evangelical Mission
Grand Canyon Synod
GSB Fundraising Resources: