It seems Christmas gifts and decorations start showing up on shelves sooner every year. As quickly as September rolls around, so do the holiday adornments. And as much as we all want to focus on the true meaning of the season, it’s still challenging not to get caught up in all the consumerism.
One great reminder that it is better to give than to receive is Giving Tuesday. Falling on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and trailing the money-driven Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is an incredible moment to practice generosity and give of our time, talent, and treasure.
Churches all over the nation use Giving Tuesday as a springboard to inspire a generous heart, get involved in their communities, and serve others. However, there are many churches that miss out on this great opportunity because they don’t have the time to focus on the giving-inspired holiday. But we are going to share a resource that will allow you to participate in generously impacting your community while saving time for everything else your church has going on leading into the holidays.
What is Giving Tuesday?
According to the Giving Tuesday website, this is a day designed to encourage people to give back to causes and organizations with the goal of creating a “massive wave of generosity.”
Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of radical generosity to transform communities and the world. It is an opportunity for people to come together to thank, help, give, show kindness, and share what they have with those in need.
This year, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving falls on November 30th. You have an exciting opportunity as a church to identify a cause (whether in your community or in your church) and create a Giving Tuesday strategy that inspires your members to give.
Why Should My Church Get Involved with Giving Tuesday?
We are advised in Thessalonians 5:11 to “encourage one another and build each other up.” There are also countless verses that talk about giving and serving. With the Bible emphasizing generosity, why not take advantage of another opportunity to pour into your community?
This event unites people around the world in doing good, which makes Giving Tuesday the perfect time to raise donations for a special fund or mission that your church is organizing. Or you can even take it a step further and partner with another non-profit or community organization to positively make a difference this holiday season.
Managed Giver Engagement for Giving Tuesday
Ekklesia360 managed giving solution is a customized communication and giving program managed by our team so you can focus on other aspects of your ministry. We handle everything from the setup and integration of your online giving platform, communications and rollout of your giving strategy, donor support including notifying donors about upcoming expiring cards or recent declines and reporting to you and your financial team. You maintain full visibility and approval along the way.
Regarding your Giving Tuesday campaign, we understand that your teams are busy this time of year and you may not have the capacity to run an in-depth event. But that doesn’t mean your church has to skip out on Giving Tuesday. Here’s how e360’s managed giving solution can help you this season:
Website Donation Page
With the managed giving solution, we create a giving page that is specific for your church. With Giving Tuesday, you can include all the updates on your church website. This can be a landing page that your email and social media posts link to with information about Giving Tuesday and your church’s cause.
The giving page should also include a button with a clear call to action, like “Give Now,” that links to your online giving platform. Since Giving Tuesday occurs midweek and not on a Sunday, it’s imperative that your congregation has easy access to make the donations they are feeling led to make.
Email and Digital Communication
Email is a highly effective way to communicate with congregants, but we understand it can be time consuming to keep up with. That's why our managed giving offers a solution where we will send emails on behalf of our church partners.
It’s simple! We’ll send you a sample email, you get to customize the copy to fit your specific church, you give us a list of the donors you want to engage, and we send the email out on your behalf! For Giving Tuesday, we can adjust the email to emphasize what organization or ministry your church is raising funds for.
Giving Statements Provided to Donors
With managed giving, we’ll provide your donors with their giving statements. They’ll be able to see how much they contributed, and when that donation was made.
This Giving Tuesday, your congregation can view how much they gave, and you can encourage them by sharing how their generosity makes a difference.
Online Event Registration
Giving Tuesday isn’t only about contributing money. Your church can take this opportunity to also encourage volunteering and service. Depending on what your church decides to do for Giving Tuesday, they could sign up to serve at the local food pantry, reach out to neighbors, or provide meals to the homeless.
With online event registration and signup slots that let them know how many spots are still needed or available, we make it easy for people to register for an event or to volunteer. Simply create a customizable form for your Giving Tuesday event where they can input their contact information and choose where/how they’d like to serve.
