Two to-dos for your best year-end giving

I can hear Andy Williams' lilting voice, can’t you? “It’s the most wonderful time, of the year…” I mean literally, he is already being piped into the sound systems of all the retail stores in town, every supermarket, and in all the public parks. It’s one of my favorite songs but…for the love of all that is good, MAKE IT STOP!
 
Whew, that’s off my chest – let’s get on with it.
 
Now is the best time to start planning for how you will approach your year-end giving.
 
This morning, I led a webinar on that very subject. With thanks to Rev. David Abbott of the United Methodist Foundation of New England, I started thinking about how to “Inspire Generosity for Year End Giving.” It’s time to share some of those thoughts with you, dear readers.
 
A few key stats about giving in December:
 
- nonprofits raise 26% of their annual revenue in December
- of a nonprofit’s total online giving, 17-31% comes in December
- 10% of all giving happens the last three days of December
 
With that in mind, here are two things you should start planning to do:
 
1. Send a Thanksgiving gratitude card. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do and it will surprise and delight the person who will get the card. Sign it personally with an extra, hand-written, “I thank God for you!”  There’s no extra envelope, no asking for money. It’s all about gratitude.
 
2. Write your year-end Christmas letter. There’s nothing magical about waiting until December 15 to write the letter. In fact, you'll have put way too much pressure on yourself by waiting until it’s nearly too late. Set a goal of having the letter written by December 1 (a whole month away!). That way the office staff will have plenty of time in the midst of an already harried season to get the mailing ready to go by the second week of December.
 
Over the years, I’ve written many posts on how to write a great Christmas letter (see below). I’ll remind you here that the content and format of the letter are crucial so that people will a) read your letter and b) be moved to send a gift.
 
A note about ghost writing: If you’re a clergyperson and writing a letter like this isn’t necessarily in your wheelhouse, please, please, please ask someone else to write it for you. The person can write up a draft of the letter and you can edit it to make it your own. I cannot tell you how many grants, letters, and thank yous I have written that have gone out under someone else’s signature. And it’s totally fine by me.  
 
A note about AI: It’s a whole new world out there. There’s nothing wrong with letting ChatGPT or other programs that use artificial intelligence give you a first draft. Just put your own human touch to it and watch the formatting.
 
There are other things you can be doing to prepare for your year-end giving. Horizons Stewardship (full disclosure, I’m one of their consultants) has come out with a super “6 Practical Ways to Finish the Year Strong” guide. I highly recommend it to you.
 
Once again:
 
Start with gratitude before you ask.
 
1. Get your Hallmark cards ready to send before Thanksgiving.
 
2. Start working on that Christmas letter – sooner, rather than later.
 
You’ll be glad you did.
 
As always, my gift to you – send me a copy of your letter and I’ll take a look at it and give you feedback on ways to make it stronger!
 
Here are a few previous posts:
 
8 Tips to Write Your Best Year-End Letter
3 Content Tips for Your Best Year-End Letter
Your Most Important Letter of the Season
Write Your Year-End Letter Right Now!
 
Photo credit CrafCraf @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. Andy Williams isn’t your speed? Surely the Chipmunks on the Ed Sullivan Show singing “Christmas, Christmas time is here…” is.
 
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!
 
Schedule a meeting now.
 
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