Stop Your Leaky Bucket
Russ and I stepped in a quiet place in the back of the church. What followed was a very tough conversation about a disagreement over something that happened in a Sunday service.
Interesting side note, after 20 years of leading churches I have found that serious conflicts rarely have anything to do with the church’s theology and almost everything to do when people get their feelings hurt.
After that gut-wrenching conversation, I “assumed” everything was alright. However, 3 months later I was looking over the giving report and I quickly noticed that Russ had not given anything for the past several months to the church.
Since Russ and his family had been. major givers to the church, I thought, “I guess everything is not alright after all”
We had a leak in our church bucket. Russ was about to become a lapsed giver.
These are members and church partners who used to give to your ministry, but for one reason or another, they have stopped giving. There are usually only three reasons why this happens:
1. God problem: struggling in their faith
2. Church problem: conflict with the leadership or another member
3. Personal problem: circumstances have changed for the worse
Think about this as it relates to your church giving patterns…statistics show that the national donor retention rate is 46% in nonprofit organizations.
What does this mean?
If you have 1,000 givers and a retention rate of 46% here’s what that will look like in four years (if nothing changed).
Year 1: 1,000 donors
Year 2: 460 donors
Year 3: 211 donors
Year 4: 97 donors
Yikes! This is pretty alarming.
Tracking lapsed givers is the first step and very important but you ultimately have to DO SOMETHING with that data!
You must combine tracking with a strategy to discover the “why” behind the issue.
It’s important to understand how the mission of your ministry aligns with the needs and heart of the giver. You can’t do that without a relationship.
Jim Sheppard, CEO, and Principal of Generis says “Shifts in giving behavior are often indicators of a deeper narrative in the lives of your people. Uncovering these stories is a one-way ticket to knowing them better and connecting on a deeper level – not to mention opportunities for ministry.”
What can you do to stop your leaky bucket?
1. Develop a strategy to identify potentially lapsed givers
2. Reach out and identify the “why” behind the change in behavior
3. Execute a Pastoral care strategy to restore their heart
I can help develop that system with your team!
Generis has worked with 100’s of churches, helping pastors develop systems to care for their people and continue to fund their vision. Consider a generosity assessment.
A Generosity Assessment is the best place to start. By studying your numbers, interviewing leadership and other key people in your organization, we can help you understand the giving patterns of your church. We can take those results and build a flourishing generosity culture that will leverage the best aspects of your church, reflect your values and DNA, and establish effective tools to further build that culture of generosity.