The Last Three Days of the Year

Today’s blog post will be short and (hopefully) sweet.
 
I am your cheeriest cheerleader. I am – with pom poms in hand – yelling, “You can do it! You can do it! You can! You can!”
 
Christmas Eve is almost here…and then you’re done.
 
Except, can I ask you to do one more thing?
 
Please send one last email reminding people about your financial need on either December 29, 30, or 31st.
 
I recently watched Tactical Thursdays’ webinar, Year-End Emails. The development/fundraising standard is to send three emails on the last three days of the year. The presenter, Sarah Lundberg, made a case for sending four.
 
I’m asking you to send one.
 
Here’s why you need to send at least one: 10% on all giving happens in the last three days of the year. No one really knows why. Maybe it’s a psychological thing. Perhaps it’s a holdover when people were trying to get a decent tax advantage for giving. Whatever the reason, people are still primed to give the last three days of the year.
 
But you need to remind them about your need.
 
And it can be easy. Just review and update the year-end letter you sent to your congregation (or non-profit) and paste it into an email.
 
To ensure you don’t offend people unnecessarily, simply add this sentence at the beginning of your email:
 
“If you’ve already given, thank you so much. But if you’d still like to give, your help is needed.” (Thanks to Sarah Lundberg for this wording).
 
Make giving easy by providing links in the email whisking folks right to your giving page.
 
End the letter with lots of gratitude, prayers and well-wishes for a wonderful 2025.

And voila! It’s time to rest.
 
Speaking of gratitude, prayers, and well-wishes for 2025, thank you dear readers for all that you do to make this world a better place. Whether you are clergy, laity, or run a non-profit, you are making a difference. You are Light to this world. And…we sure need all the Light we can get. God bless you.
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Image credit: LadyBB @ pixabay.com

Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a Stewardship Consultant for the OR-ID Annual Conference. She is also a Senior Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship. For 25 years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she has helped raise over three million dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations.
 
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered! To get you in the Christmas spirit, she’d like you to take a short listen to the late, great Quincy Jones’ directing the Gospel version of the Hallelujah Chorus. If you’re not rocking out afterward...
 
Schedule a meeting now.
 
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