Once you’ve spread the word about your nonprofit and begun securing the support of donors, don’t let all your hard work go to waste! As nonprofit organizations and their donor bases grow, donor retention becomes increasingly important. By retaining the support of more of your donors over time, you’ll be able to:

• Deepen your relationships with existing donors
• Encourage retained donors to give larger donations and get involved in new ways
• Reduce the need to constantly acquire new donors through costly advertising campaigns

 

Donor retention will sustain your nonprofit’s growth, and to retain donors, you’ll need to actively work to steward your relationships with them. 

Even if you don’t have a dedicated development team in charge of fostering relationships with your most important donors, understanding the fundamentals of stewardship will be invaluable. 

Let’s explore three foundational best practices and how nonprofits typically approach them. As you read, consider how you might best adapt them to your organization’s own unique context and the resources you have available.

Take an organized approach to donor stewardship.

First, you’ll need to be organized. Managing relationships with a growing base of donors requires accurately tracking and recording their donation histories and touchpoints with your organization. Nonprofits keep their stewardship processes organized with these standard tactics:

• Clearly assign stewardship roles. A designated team (or individual) should be in charge of overseeing how you’re stewarding and staying in touch with donors, whether that’s a full development team or a single gift officer. 

 

• Use prospect and donor portfolios. Once you have one or more individuals dedicated to stewardship activities, sort your high-value donors (i.e. those that have given large gifts or have the potential to give large gifts) into separate portfolios. Portfolio management helps your team to better keep track of donor relationships over time and prioritize their outreach.

 

• Regularly qualify the donors in your portfolios. Donor qualification is the process of checking donors’ wealth markers and reviewing notes from previous conversations to determine how likely they are to give again soon and at what level. This essentially allows you to prioritize your stewardship efforts based on where they will generate the most value for your nonprofit.

 

These kinds of stewardship activities should be ongoing to yield the best results. In the Graham-Pelton donor qualification guide, we recommend making it a regular part of your work to ensure your team prioritizes outreach to the most engaged donors.

Continually learn more about your donors.

Donor stewardship is about more than just keeping track of data and touchpoints in order to ask for future gifts—it’s fundamentally about maintaining and growing your relationships with donors so that they’ll want to keep supporting your nonprofit over time. 

This means staying in touch with them, having frequent conversations, and learning more about them as people. This aspect of stewardship will involve a few different types of information:

• Wealth markers. Publicly accessible information about individuals’ careers, stock and property holdings, previous donation amounts, and more can help you roughly determine their ability to give.
• Affinity markers. Other prospecting data points about individuals’ interests and histories with other nonprofits allow you to get a sense of what they’re passionate about.
• Personal anecdotes and discussions. One-on-one conversations with donors can reveal a lot about what motivates them to give and how they’re interested in getting involved. If you’ve received a larger-than-average donation, reach out to that donor to thank them, ask what drew them to your nonprofit, and generally initiate a conversation.

 

Of course, this level of personal outreach and research isn’t feasible for every single donor, which is why the organizational steps outlined above are so important for focusing your efforts. But once you have a clear sense of where your time will best be spent and which donors you want to prioritize retaining, you’ll have a list of individuals and can begin reaching out and conducting prospect research.

Involve your donors in new ways.

So you’ve set up an organized stewardship process, learned more about your top donors, and stayed in touch so that you can keep asking for their support over time. What next?

Stay on the lookout for new ways for your donors to get involved with your mission. By further engaging donors with your organization, you’ll be able to deepen these relationships and encourage additional support over time. Consider these strategies for involving your top donors:

• Offer them new ways to give. It’s no secret that charitable donations bring tax benefits for donors. Asking if your top donors would be interested in setting up a planned gift or donating stock can motivate them to give more than they might if just donating out-of-pocket. FreeWill’s stock giving guide discusses the benefits of this form of giving.

 

• Organize special events for them. An appreciation event can go a long way to show donors that you value their involvement. They can range from casual site visits to formal galas and auctions, but remember to keep the focus on expressing gratitude and showing donors the impact they’ve had and can continue to have.

 

• Ask them to volunteer—but lean into their unique connections and skills. A well-connected major donor might be excited to volunteer at your next event, but they could also be the perfect person to host a charity mixer and invite their friends and colleagues. Your top donors can likely offer valuable introductions that will spark new relationships to help push your mission forward.

 

• Seek their input. Show your top donors you value their help and want them to be a part of your organization by asking for feedback in your one-on-one conversations. Including these donors in your feasibility studies for major campaigns and/or asking for their thoughts on your case for support is another standard practice that can help secure their buy-in from the very start of the project.

 

Involvement can come in all shapes and sizes, especially for a nonprofit’s top donors who might be looking to drive greater impact on an organization’s ability to pursue its mission effectively. If you’re already having regular conversations with key donors, simply ask them if there are other ways they’d like to get involved and offer a few ideas.

These foundational stewardship best practices are often applied specifically to a nonprofit’s most impactful donors. By retaining their support and growing your relationships with them, you’ll have made an outsized investment in your nonprofit’s future.

But don’t forget to consider all your donors. Stewardship essentials like staying organized, keeping your mission on donors’ minds, expressing your gratitude, and finding ways to diversify their involvement can and should be adapted to your entire community. A stable base of support made up of retained donors is the best asset your organization can have and one that will fuel sustainable growth for years to come.

The post Donor Stewardship: 3 Fundamentals for Growing Nonprofits first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

For many volunteers, their work for causes they believe in offers them a sense of community and purpose, which has been put at risk since the onset of the pandemic. However, with a little innovation, there are plenty of ways to bring your volunteers together for your cause during COVID-19.

To spark inspiration, this article will explore five tips to keep your volunteers invested in your cause during COVID-19. Here’s what we’ll cover:

1. Offer new involvement opportunities.
2. Take extra health precautions.
3. Move your training online.
4. Take advantage of volunteer management software.
5. Prioritize volunteer retention.

So long as you put plenty of time and effort into your volunteers, your program can thrive despite the challenges thrown your way. Let’s dive into these tips so that you can develop an exceptional volunteer experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Offer new involvement opportunities.

There is so much important work that can be done remotely, and your volunteers can help you do it. From community wellness calls to virtual fundraising, much of your volunteers’ work can be moved online.

Before you begin setting up your new volunteer opportunities, it is important to get a better idea of all your volunteers’ skills. Most volunteers have careers and specific skill sets that can be put to great use for your organization. To get a sense of your team’s abilities, create a new online registration form through your volunteer management solution and add questions relating to remote volunteer work skills and interests. Once you have completed that, you can quickly distribute it to your volunteers and collect all the information you need.

Once you have an idea of your team’s skills and interests, you can begin to create compelling remote volunteer roles. First and foremost, the roles should include information on why the work is important to the organization. This will ensure that the volunteer understands their time’s impact, helping keep them stay engaged and invested in the organization.

Here are a few remote volunteering opportunities ideas to get you started:

• Online fundraising campaign management
• Community phone outreach
• Donor outreach
• Online teaching/tutoring services for families in need
• Writing or grant writing activities
• Online marketing activities
• Media outreach
• Data entry

Building out volunteer opportunities based on your volunteers’ skills will allow you to capture supporters’ interest, making them much more excited to participate. That way, you don’t have to worry about losing their attention despite the distance.

2. Take extra health precautions.

While there are many volunteer opportunities and activities that can be done remotely, some essential community services require volunteers to work in person. This can be anything from food bank work to health and wellness support for vulnerable community members.

Any volunteer work that takes place within the community must be done in accordance with all health and safety requirements and protocols that have been outlined by local health authorities. Screening volunteers to ensure that vulnerable volunteers with additional health risks are placed in remote work only is also an important step in ensuring your volunteers are kept safe.

While following health and safety protocols is essential, you should consider going above and beyond basic recommendations to increase your volunteers’ safety further while working in the community.

Here are a few health and safety precautions to consider implementing:

• Distribute medical masks or face shields during check-in.
• Set up hand sanitizer stations and encourage volunteers to bring their personal hand sanitizer.
• Take volunteers’ temperatures as they check in for their shifts.
• Ask essential health screening questions before each shift, such as whether they’ve experienced
• certain symptoms within the past 48 hours.
• Set up social distancing barriers and stickers.

By going the extra mile to protect volunteers, you’ll convey that you genuinely care about your supporters. In turn, these individuals will be much more willing and excited to participate. Your volunteers and your team will feel safe and relaxed with the proper precautions in place.

3. Move your training online.

Training is essential for all volunteers to ensure that everyone is aware of your organization’s mission and equipped with the skills and information they need to succeed in their roles. In-person training presents too much risk for your team, though. Luckily, there are many great online volunteer options available. Whether you are training new volunteers or existing volunteers who are working in a new role for your organization, online training is the only truly safe option during COVID-19.

Online training courses through a learning management system or even webinar-style video training offer a convenient training experience. The volunteer can work their training into their existing schedule and complete everything right from the comfort of their home.

Here are a few online training ideas to help you get started:

• Online courses through a learning management system
• Weekly training webinars in the evening
• Video training that’s available online
• Online peer-to-peer training

These remote training options will allow your team to get up and running with as few hiccups as possible. Volunteers will know exactly how to complete their jobs and fill expectations from the start, so they can focus on maximizing their impact.

4. Take advantage of volunteer management software.

Managing volunteers has become even more challenging during COVID-19 because of ever-increasing logistical requirements, remote work, and growing community demands on essential services.

A spreadsheet and form won’t do the trick anymore for most organizations managing volunteers. That’s where volunteer management software comes in to do the heavy lifting on administrative work. A dedicated platform will help to save time through a streamlined and organized volunteer management process.

Comprehensive volunteer management software should include the following functionality:

• Recruit volunteers online through a customizable registration form and onboarding workflow.
• Screen volunteer applications based on skills, qualifications, interests, and availability to match the right volunteer to the right role.
• Create a volunteer schedule quickly and empower volunteers to view and sign up for their preferred activities and missions.
• Manage and communicate with volunteers to keep them up to date with automated notifications, communications, and shift reminders.
• Report on hours worked and easily filter, review, and report on your volunteer program data to help you secure funding.

A volunteer management software’s role is to help streamline the administrative tasks required to manage a team of volunteers and allow that time to be reinvested in other activities that help an organization meet its goals. Taking the time to select the right platform up front will make for a seamless volunteer process for both your volunteers and your staff members.

5. Prioritize volunteer retention.

Volunteers are an essential and valuable resource for any organization, which makes volunteer retention very important. In order to retain your volunteers, you need to understand what motivates them to volunteer in the first place. Understanding that motivation will help you understand what tactics can be used to keep them invested for the long term.

Some common volunteer motivations are:

• A personal connection to the cause or mission
• An interest in making a positive impact
• A need to form new relationships
• A better connection to their community
• A meaningful way to spend spare time
• A need to learn new skills and experience

Once you have gathered all the information you need to understand your volunteers’ motivations, you can begin to plan your volunteer retention strategy. Any retention strategy’s goal should be to ensure volunteers are placed in roles they find meaningful to keep them engaged. However, if there are limited volunteer opportunities available, then there are other ways to keep them engaged in the meantime.

Many nonprofits find success in the following volunteer engagement ideas:

• Send routine email communications or newsletters.
• Offer bimonthly webinars for volunteers.
• Set up virtual social hours for volunteers to connect.
• Keep volunteers informed on any new volunteer opportunities.

When building out your retention plan, incorporate some (or all) of these strategies. Then, pay attention to which ones tend to work, as well as which ones fall short of expectations. This will enable you to continuously improve your tactics and retention numbers.

While COVID-19 continues to require limited in-person interactions, it is more important than ever for organizations to continue investing in volunteer retention and engagement strategies. Volunteers bring a tremendous amount of value to the organizations and communities they serve, and maintaining those relations will be increasingly necessary as community demands continue to rise.

This guest post was contributed by Cassandra Smallman, Head of Marketing at InitLive.

Cassandra is a passionate content creator dedicated to fostering positive impact through thought leadership in both the Nonprofit sector and live events industry. You can find her work at www.initlive.com or on Linkedin and Twitter.

The post How to Keep Volunteers Invested in Your Work During COVID-19 first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

And if you do a few things right, you’ll raise a ton of support for your mission. Let’s walk through the four major stages involved in writing optimized donation letters:

1. 1. Drafting your donation letters.
   2. Creating a campaign page.
   3. Adapting your donation letters.
   4. Adding your personal touch.

Ready to learn more about writing and sending effective donation letters? Let’s dive in.

1. Draft your main donation letter.

Here’s the main thing to keep in mind: Make sure your donors understand how their support impacts your mission. Be sure to stress the urgency and importance of the work that’s still to come—made possible by their generous support. Placing supporters at the center of your organization’s story, with lots (and lots) of thanks and recognition, makes them feel personally connected to your mission. And that’s what compels them to give more.

You might also want to show just how much your organization does through short testimonials or impact stories from previous constituents. Include some real-life details that will make your supporters think, smile, or even shed a tear.

Snowball Tip: Use Our Free Templates

[boc_spacing height=”1px”]Feeling daunted? Plug the key information about your organization into one of our free donation letter templates. This is a strong foundation to build on and create a compelling and unique appeal.[boc_spacing height=”20px”]

[boc_spacing height=”20px”]Once you’ve got the basics, you can flesh it out with personal details that tell your organization’s story and make an impression on supporters.

2. Create a campaign page with a unique Text-to-Give trigger word.

You want to make it as easy as possible to donate, so set up an online Snowball Campaign Page and Text-to-Give trigger word that tie into your end-of-year appeal. Then include your organization’s Text-to-Give number and keyword throughout your donation letter. It’s not just easier for your supporters to give this way, it’s also more effective. Campaigns that leveraged a digital component alongside their direct mail strategies have shown a 118% lift in response rate, compared to only using direct mail.

Snowball Tip: Add Donation Descriptions

[boc_spacing height=”1px”]To drive higher engagement and more donations through your online Snowball page, be sure to spell out how different dollar amounts meet specific needs for your mission. (For example: A $10 donation might buy a child notebooks for the school year, while a $500 gift might send a child to camp.) Add donation descriptions to your Snowball fundraiser by clicking the “Edit Page” button on your Campaign Page dashboard. Scroll down to the Amount Settings area. Set your suggested donation sizes in the “Amount” field on the left; describe the need it fulfills in the field to its right.[boc_spacing height=”20px”]

3. Adapt your donation letters to a few different audiences.

Now that you’ve got your basic letter drafted, you’ll want to make a few versions that speak to distinct types of supporters. It makes sense to address top supporters (people who’ve given $500 or more, for example) with more familiarity and gratitude than someone who’s never donated before. Alternatively, you might speak to those who’ve only shown up for events in a different way than individuals who give monthly recurring donations.

These aren’t total rewrites. Just swap out a few sentences here and there from your main draft—for example, your intro and closing sentences, and the specific “asks” (donation requests) that you make.

Snowball Tip: Filter and Sort Your Supporters

[boc_spacing height=”1px”]Use the “Filter By” and “Sort By” features in your Supporter Management dashboard to identify segments of supporters to adapt your donation letter to. For example, you can organize your donors and seek out individuals by recurring gifts, number of donations, or amounts given.[boc_spacing height=”20px”]

[boc_spacing height=”20px”]You can also click the “Export” button at the bottom of the Supporter Management page to have a .csv spreadsheet of your supporter data automatically sent to your organization’s email address. You can sort the spreadsheet from there.

4. Add a final personal touch.

Once you print out your donation letters, take the time to add a hand-written note on at the top of your letterhead or on a separate note card that you’ll tuck into the envelope with the letter. The note should refer to the individual supporter by name and include a personal detail or two.

(Do you have tons of supporters? Lucky you! Ask your staff to make lists of supporters that they’ve engaged with the most, and have them write those notes.)

Then, hand-write their address on the envelope—that makes these letters much more likely to be opened and read.

You might want to consider emailing digital versions of your letters to supporters, as well. The more touchpoints, the better! Just be sure to include a personal note and a link to your Snowball Campaign page at the top of the email.

These four simple steps are all but guaranteed to drive results in your Giving Season fundraising campaign. We’ve seen countless top fundraisers use it year after year with resounding success—and now you can too. Good luck!

The post Optimizing Your Donation Letters in 4 Steps with Snowball first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Best of all, church newsletters foster a sense of community, encouraging your congregants to stay connected with one another and with church leaders.

To kick off your church bulletin efforts, explore these key concepts:

1. Church Newsletters: The Basics
2. Church Newsletter Tips and Best Practices
3. Church Newsletter Ideas to Excite Members
4. Pro Tips for Modern Church Communication

Here at Snowball, we aim to provide nonprofits like churches with the best fundraising tools on the market to boost revenue. We’ve helped organizations of all shapes and sizes strengthen their relationships with their supporters and communities, propelling them toward their goals.

From our experience, effective fundraising all comes down to communication! For churches, newsletters are the best way to establish an open line of communication and capture supporters’ attention.

Ready to explore the best church newsletter tips and tricks? Let’s dive in!

Church Newsletters: The Basics

If you’re new to the newsletter world, no worries! They’re an easy concept to understand (but a tricky one to master).

Essentially, church newsletters are publications that inform readers about current events in and around the church. Most churches pass out their bulletins during the service, but email newsletters allow members to receive church news wherever they are.

Church newsletters go by many names, some of which you may have heard. These include:

• Church bulletins
• Church magazines
• Church newspapers
• Church publications

What should church newsletters include?

The content in your bulletin should vary based on your church and its current events. Start with these essential building blocks for your church newsletters:

• News – Focus on spreading the word about past, current, and upcoming events in and around the church community.
• Itinerary – Most church newsletters include an itinerary for the week’s service, including songs and scripture passages that will be read.
• Genuine Photos – The best church newsletters include candid, genuine photos of members laughing and worshipping.
• Contact Information – As a part of every publication you send, include an email address, phone number, and mailing address in case your current or potential members need to get into contact with you.

Once you’ve established a solid foundation, experiment with other content. To grow your repertoire of content ideas, visit our church letter basics guide.

Who should write the newsletter?

Designating who does what for your church newsletters is an important step in the process. Doing this ensures that one person doesn’t get stuck with too much work. Plus, the more people who get involved, the better! Everyone involved will feel responsible for the success of the publication, encouraging them to do their best work.

When setting up your newsletter’s timeline, use this as an outline for delegating responsibilities:

• Church Administrators – Church administrators should be in charge of setting publication dates and working on the logistics of distributing newsletters on time.
• Pastors, Ministers, Preachers – Every so often, pastors should contribute articles to the newsletters, guiding congregants through passages or sermon themes.
• Staff and Leadership – The majority of the content for church newsletters should come from staff and leadership.
• Church Members – Include the words of your church’s members from time to time. This ensures congregants feel appreciated.

Change up the author every once in a while. You’ll find that readers will be much more engaged when viewing a new perspective.

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How long should the church newsletter be?

You want enough content to inform readers but not so much that they quit reading. Depending on the platform, vary the length of your church newsletters based on the following suggestions:

• Email newsletter length – Keep it between 500 to 1,000 words. To do this, cut out extra words (but not images!) and minimize your paragraphs to 1-4 lines.
• Paper bulletin length – As you’re putting together your paper bulletin, keep in mind that it should be 2 to 3 pages at max. If you have more to say, print on both sides of the paper.

Whether it’s online or on paper, consider breaking up articles into columns (like newspapers do) to make it easier to read. To reach the largest audience, experiment with both a paper and a digital version of your church newsletter.

When and how should you distribute the bulletin?

Now that you know how to write the bulletin, it’s time to focus on handing it out.

First, you’ll need to assess your audience size. Since larger churches may run into the issue of having too much to report too often, consider sending out weekly or biweekly publications.

By that same logic, smaller churches may have fewer updates to report and therefore might only need to send out a monthly newsletter. They may only have enough to fill one bulletin per month, but that one publication is sure to garner some attention!

Then, consider how much information you’re including. More in-depth articles necessitate thorough research, writing, and editing time. To include top-notch content in every newsletter, you might find it best to stick to a monthly schedule.

On the flip side, if you’re merely posting quick updates and upcoming events, saving everything up for a monthly newsletter may be overwhelming. Instead, crank out a weekly newsletter highlighting each point.

Finally, determine the best means of distribution. Start with a paper copy to pass out during the service and try to create one each week. For members who weren’t able to attend the service or those who tuned into your online live stream instead, send out an email newsletter and/or mail a physical copy to their homes. Remember, you’ll reach the largest audience if you employ a digital and a physical strategy together.

Consider segmenting your church members to send different communications to different groups. For example, older congregation members may prefer to receive physical bulletin copies in the mail, while younger members typically prefer email communications. 

Send your church bullitins quickly, easily, and cost-efficiently using GivingMail! Head to the GivingMail website for details.

You can even use your direct mailings to add a fundraising element to your communications. Check out GivingMail’s church fundraising letters guide, as well as their direct mail options, to find out the best way to request gifts through the mail.

In any case, make sure you actively promote your church newsletter. Rely on greeters to pass out each week’s church newsletter. Then, update your email subscribers and remote participants with what they need to know.

For more tips on engaging congregants, explore our tips for church communication.

Church Newsletter Tips and Best Practices

Church bulletins are made up of several components. From the design to the content itself, each element must work together to capture and garner church members’ attention.

Like we mentioned, church newsletters are easy to understand but difficult to master—especially if you’ve never actually written one before. So that you can effectively kick off your efforts, let’s review several key church newsletter tips.

Writing a Church Newsletter Tips

The content of your newsletter should be your first priority. When crafting your bulletin, consider these tips:

• Pick an Objective for Each Letter. The most effective church newsletters have a clear purpose (like informing readers or telling a story).
• Perform A/B Subject Line Testing. Using comprehensive email tools, compare your open rates (the percentage of people who open your newsletter emails) for different types of subject lines. Pinpoint what resonates best with your congregation.
• Use A Personal Tone in the Copy. Aim to be informative while also being somewhat informal and conversational. Think of it as a conversation between a church leader and a member.
• Draw Attention With Formatting. If you have particularly important points you want to emphasize, draw attention with bolding and italics. Do so sparingly, though.

Your church newsletter is a great opportunity to promote your text-to-tithe number. If you’re sending it via email, include a link to your church’s giving page too. All the hard work your staff puts into constructing your bulletin each week may spark a feeling of generosity.

Designing a Church Newsletter Tips

Once you have stellar copy, you’ll need to focus on organizing it and presenting it in an enticing way. Remember, human beings are visual creatures. Follow these effective design tips when pulling together your work:

• Craft a Header With a Logo. Your newsletter’s header is one of the first things your readers will see. Make it count. Properly brand it with your church’s logo, colors, and readable font.
• Create Subheadings. Make your newsletter more scannable by adding headings and subheadings throughout. This is also a great way to break up the copy.
• Stack Content for Mobile Users. Chances are, many of your readers will be opening your church newsletters on their phones. Stack your content vertically to make sure it’s viewable on mobile devices.
• Split Up Text With Images. Balance out large chunks of important text with meaningful photos to drive the point home. After all, a picture is worth 1,000 words.

Remember, visual appeal plays a large part in reader engagement. If it’s difficult to read, congregants won’t stick around for long—no matter how well-written it is.

Check out what the experts at DNL OmniMedia have to say about nonprofit web design. Maybe you’ll get some inspiration for formatting your church newsletters.

Increasing Readership

Once you’ve taken the above church newsletter tips into account, take a few extra steps to promote readership. Start by outright encouraging both existing and potential members to subscribe to your email newsletter. To start, pass around an email sign-up sheet at all of your church events and watch your subscription list grow!

Then, add a social media sharing button (or two or three) to your email newsletters. This is great for spreading the word to those who might be interested in joining your church.

Remember, you can stare at analytics all day long, but nothing is quite as helpful as honest feedback from readers. Every once in a while, send out a brief survey to gauge readers’ opinions. Then, act on the results.

When members see that you’ve incorporated their feedback into your church newsletters, they’ll be far more invested in your publication. People appreciate knowing their voices are heard. Best of all, having an open dialogue with your members means they’ll be more engaged across the board.

Church Newsletter Ideas to Excite Members

Once you get into the swing of producing church newsletters, you’ll need to change up your approach every so often to keep members interested.

To fully engage readers, start by establishing consistency with these church newsletter tips:

• Inspirational Quotes – Email newsletter subscribers love a good quote they can walk away with. Use a site that produces applicable quotes. Then, choose a monthly or weekly quote relevant to the current sermon series.
• Scripture of the Month – Highlight certain passages so long as they fit the sermon series’ themes. You can also include particularly poignant passages in light of recent events.
• A Message From the Pastor – An important part of every church newsletter is a short message from the pastor, preacher, priest, or other church leadership.
• Topics of Inspiration – Church members may look to your bulletin for words of comfort or inspiration. Include short, uplifting passages in your newsletter.

When you establish consistency with your bulletin, readers will look forward to reading your publication every week (or month). Who knows? Maybe one of the above church newsletter ideas will be their new favorite segment!

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Freshen Up Your Content

Once you’ve established some consistency in your church newsletters, try shaking things up! You don’t want to bore congregants with the same content in each publication. To keep persuade them to keep reading, consider the following:

• Give Video Content a Whirl. Visual content—videos especially—is a great engagement tool. The best email newsletters feature videos of pastors addressing the congregation and image highlights from church events.
• Conduct a Panel Interview. Instead of sticking to the same old interview style, mix it up! Conduct a panel of interviewees (or interviewers) and ask an array of questions to get the most well-rounded responses.
• Host a Content Contest. Nothing excites people quite like a bit of competition. Encourage congregants to come up with the best content they can. Reward the person who creates the best newsletter content ideas by featuring them in your next publication. A holiday-themed photo contest is a perfect example.

By freshening up your content, you give congregants new ways to engage, which encourages them to keep coming back for more.

Pro Tips for Modern Church Communication

Here at Snowball, we’ve learned which communication strategies work and which don’t. Through our careful research, we’ve found one method is growing increasingly popular: technology.

As society grows more and more reliant on technology, you need to adjust your strategies accordingly. Specifically for church newsletters, digital methods are especially valuable.

Start by experimenting with your layout. One design style may work for a while but will eventually become monotonous and uninteresting to readers. To freshen up your bulletin, try out these tips:

• Select A New Layout. If using a template, there may be several built-in layout options. Play around with them until you find one that adds some more life to your church newsletter.
• De-Clutter Your Content. Nothing is quite as distracting as chunky blocks of text without images to break them up. Cut down on the number of lines per paragraph and the number of paragraphs in each article.
• Update Your Calls-To-Action. A call-to-action is the specific sentence, link or button directing readers to complete a specific action—like making a gift online or signing up to volunteer. Update your calls-to-action at least once a month to keep readers clicking on them and following through.

Modern fundraising is all about adaptability. To expand your fundraising potential, check out our overview of online fundraising.

Email Software for Church Newsletters

Once you modernize the bulletin itself, transition your focus to your distribution methods. You’ve learned that your best bet is to create a physical and digital version, but how can you do this without spending excessive time doing so? Simple: use email software! Email software allows you to:

• Send Emails in Bulk. As your subscriber list grows, you’ll find it more difficult to trigger your newsletter manually. Make sure your email platform allows you to send out as many emails as you need without tipping off spam filters.
• Find an Array of Templates. Remember, it’s important to update your layout. Many email software providers offer templates. Make sure they offer the variety of options your church wants.
• Schedule Your Church Newsletters. It’s nice to be able to rely on a service to automatically send out your bulletin. That way, congregants know exactly when to expect it to appear in their inboxes.

To fulfill your unique needs, ensure that your email software allows you to do all of the above and more (like including intuitive giving buttons). This enables you to quickly distribute your well-designed newsletters.

Analytics for Church Newsletters

After using your email software to distribute your church newsletter, review the key analytics it provides. Analytics are an important part of modern fundraising. They enable you to optimize the reader experience!

To promote readership, make sure you’re tracking these metrics:

• Clickthroughs – If more people clicked on certain types of content within your article, you know to continue writing that type of content. Use this information to shape your future church newsletters.
• Delivery Rate – Calculate this by subtracting the number of “bounced” emails from the total number of emails you sent. If your average delivery rate is lower than 95%, clean up your mailing list.
• Forward Rate – The more people who forward your newsletter, the more exposure your church gets. Include a call-to-action with a trackable link to forward the church newsletter.
• List Growth – Get into the habit of checking the number of subscribers you have at the end of each month. If your subscription list is expanding, you know that you’re on the right track.

To learn more, head on over to this overview of the different analytics all nonprofits should be tracking. Make sure to pay special attention to the email analytics section!

Fundraising With Church Newsletters

Church newsletters can do more than just provide updates on church events. They can also encourage donations from your generous members. Remember, once readers see all the work that’s going into the bulletin, they may want to reward your dedication.

Specifically, here are a few easy donation tools (which Snowball can help out with) to promote via newsletter:

• Email donation buttons – Email giving buttons allow your church’s members to give without leaving their inboxes. They’ll select the amount they’d like to give and confirm their payment.
• Text-to-tithe numbers – Text-to-tithe is a modern way for congregants to give back. All they need to do is text your church’s phone number, follow a link, select their preferred donation amount, and press send!
• Online giving portals – Online giving portals can propel your tithing efforts forward. From crowdfunding to tailored online donation forms, the possibilities are endless!

Remember, don’t let supporters’ generosity fade. Take charge by featuring your fundraising tools in your email newsletter!

Wrapping Up

To sum up, church newsletters play a major role in capturing your congregants’ attention. From boosting event attendance to growing funds, bulletins have the power to completely transform your church.

It all starts with well-written copy, informing readers of the most up-to-date happenings in your church. When drafting your church newsletters, focus on conveying the most important messages while making sure they’re visually compelling.

Remember, you’ll be missing out on a great opportunity if you’re not funneling digital readers to your online giving platforms. 

To establish a solid strategy, expand your tech toolkit. The right digital fundraising tools can substantially boost the impact and value of your church newsletters as you develop and improve them. Specifically, look for tools that are easy to use right out of the box and can adapt to your church’s specific needs.

To continue your research, explore these other useful posts:

• The Essential Guide to Text-to-Give. Text-to-tithe is a powerful source of revenue for churches. Review the essentials and provide congregants with a new way to give back!
• Church Fundraising Ideas: 25+ New Ways to Fund Your Ministry. Churches need to take extra steps to generate funding. Explore these effective fundraising ideas for churches of all sizes.
• Church Fundraising Letters: An Essential Guide. To raise money, churches have to constantly try out new fundraising methods. Find out how to craft an effective church fundraising letter with this guide.

The post Church Newsletters | Complete Guide for Modern Communication first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Because the nonprofit tech world is rapidly developing, CRM software is something you just can’t do without. From maintaining strong relationships to streamlining the online fundraising process, CRMs give nonprofits the power to reach all their goals. In the long run, you’ll reach larger audiences and grow your impact considerably.

In fact, a CRM is often the thing that gives a young nonprofit its first real growth boost. However, the cost can often be prohibitive for small organizations.

Luckily, there are now professional-grade options that are low-cost or free! Don’t let the phrase “low-cost or free” deter you, as these systems are just as high-quality as any expensive system on the market.

When assessing your low-cost or free nonprofit CRM platform options, choose the one that’s best suited to your organization’s needs. To do this, follow these key steps:

1. Assess your needs.
2. Understand common features.
3. Consider integrations.
4. Explore a few top providers.
5. Don’t get locked into restrictive pricing.
6. Think about your growth.

If supporter engagement has been lacking lately, it may be time for a software upgrade. Ready to start putting your supporters first (and possibly grow profits as a result)? Let’s dive in!

1. Assess your need for free nonprofit CRM software.

Nonprofits on a budget typically think they’re unable to afford a system with the functionality they need, limiting them to spreadsheets where they have to manually enter information. Especially when you’re learning how to start a nonprofit, you may be overwhelmed by hefty price tags. However, this spreadsheet-only mindset is a common misconception, because the approach doesn’t really get the job done.

When you only store your constituent data in a spreadsheet, you miss out on a handful of vital features that enhance the supporter experience (and improve retention rates). Unlike traditional spreadsheets, nonprofit CRMs play a part in all of your strategies.

They help to streamline the donation process, manage supporter data, create targeted outreach, and much more. Best of all, there’s no need to drop a fortune on an expensive system.

Here’s a small part of what a low-cost CRM for nonprofits can do for organizations just like yours (that spreadsheets just can’t!):

• Create donor profiles.
• Process and manage donations.
• View supporter relationships.
• Track participation and engagement.
• Automate mass and target emails.

If you’re in the market for free nonprofit tech solutions, swing by our free nonprofit software guide. Chances are, you’ll find a tool that fulfills one of your organization’s needs without making you drop a pretty penny.

2. Understand the common features of low-cost CRM software for nonprofits.

While some tech solutions are more comprehensive than others, there are a few common features prioritized by most systems. Make sure your nonprofit CRM offers these core features:

• Tracking and managing information by individual, whether supporter, donor, staff, volunteer.
• Abilities to tag, filter, sort, and search your data as needed.
• Robust export functions to make sure your data is actionable.

Because of the growing dependence on technology, most donors prefer to give online. You’ll need a system that automatically tracks online donations. However, there is still a handful of donors who prefer to give offline, so make sure you can easily input their donations as well.

Extensive nonprofit CRM features

Once you’ve found a low-cost CRM for nonprofits that fulfills these basic donor management standards, look into more robust features.

To start, make sure you can build web forms to go directly onto your nonprofit website. Visit this guide for a few best practices. Specifically, a comprehensive solution will enable you to create online donation forms, event registration forms, volunteer sign-up forms, and so on. Take it a step further by branding these to your organization with colors, fonts, and images so that they flow seamlessly with the rest of your website.

Then, make sure your free nonprofit CRM offers email automation. If you think emailing constituents is out-of-date (and ineffective), you’re wrong! In fact, email-based marketing and promotional campaigns have generated 28% of all nonprofit revenue in previous years.

Especially since the donation process is becoming more digital, supporters will expect an instant follow-up email post-donation. With a CRM that enables customizable email automation, you can set up a follow-up message that exceeds their expectations.

From here, you can send targeted, mass, or individual emails to anyone in your database in just a few clicks. This is great for making appeals and getting everyone involved. Then, view and track their responses as well as open and click-through rates to get an idea of which communication strategies are effective and which aren’t.

Overall, a free donation tool with built-in CRM capabilities is often the smartest move for small and growing organizations. It gives them all the core features they need to succeed and lets them begin building a solid data foundation.

3. Consider integrations with your existing tools.

If you’re already using effective digital tools, a free nonprofit CRM or a low-cost option that works seamlessly alongside them is a valuable asset. Instead of having to constantly transfer data, your nonprofit CRM should automatically do this without being prompted. After all, your tech is designed to speed up your workflow, not interrupt it.

Remember, your CRM serves as your central database for constituent data and interactions. When it easily integrates with your existing tools, your database becomes much smarter, allowing you to combine the power of your entire software ecosystem. Best of all, there’s no learning curve since your team will be leveraging its existing tools.

Integrations or built-in donation software should rank as one of your top priorities. Once you find a low-cost CRM for nonprofits that offers this, branch out to additional giving methods, marketing software, and more as your organization grows. Let’s take a look at a few of these potential growth opportunities.

Online Giving Software

As previously touched on, your system should offer form-building capabilities. However, you’ll still want to make use of your dedicated giving software. Cover all of your bases and ensure your donors have a customized experience.

By integrating your online donation tools with your nonprofit CRM, all donor data will be automatically funneled into your database as soon as someone completes a gift.

When you don’t have to manually enter data, you’ll save hours of work and eliminate opportunities for human error.

Text-to-Give Tools

Not only will a comprehensive nonprofit CRM document traditional giving methods, but it will document text-to-give donations, too!

Since text-to-donate is one of the easiest ways to acquire donations, you’ll likely acquire a handful of new supporters using this tool. Sometimes, donors just want a fresh new way to give.

Make sure this donor data flows seamlessly into your nonprofit CRM, so that it doesn’t get lost in translation!

Matching Gift Tools

Corporate philanthropy is a powerful giving method. Specifically, matching gifts have the power to double (maybe even triple!) your donations.

With an integrable matching gift tool, you’ll instantly identify match-eligible donors and market content to the right individuals.

Use this tech to convey the importance of submitting match requests and increasing donations. Not to mention it’s a great retention strategy! By growing their impact, donors will feel more vital to the success of your cause. Best of all, they won’t have to reach back into their own pockets!

4. Explore a few top providers of low-cost CRMs for nonprofits.

Chances are you need a low-cost CRM for nonprofits right now. Otherwise, you may miss out on developing important relationships with donors. Snowball’s basic plan has you covered with all the features you need for FREE, such as:

• Donor and transaction histories
• Unlimited accounts
• Simple setup
• Nonprofit-Specific design

Its built-in nonprofit CRM capabilities give you everything you need to begin tracking and using data in effective ways. After setup, you’ll automatically have access to an unlimited number of users and plenty of easy-to-navigate features.

Snowball is super simple to get started with. With quick implementation, you won’t miss a beat!

At Snowball, we’re dedicated to providing top-notch software at an affordable cost to nonprofits just like yours! Our goal is to reduce donor abandonment by simplifying the giving process for organizations and donors alike. Ready to maximize your donor retention (and fundraising dollars)?

Larger organizations may need to consider more heavy-duty features in their next database solution. To continue exploring other options, visit Double the Donation’s nonprofit CRM guide.

5. Don’t get locked into restrictive CRM pricing.

A nonprofit themselves, TechSoup offers discounted (and even free) tech solutions for other organizations. While receiving donated software might seem like a great (and affordable) solution, you’ll actually be much better off thinking outside of the TechSoup box.

From eligibility requirements to time and usage restrictions, there are a handful of rules your organization must follow to receive the donated tech products. Plus, the tech may wind up not really fitting your needs (even though you’ve already paid the admin fees).

In fact, that’s the problem with the majority of expensive tech, even when purchased at a discounted rate. You spend all your time choosing and implementing a pricy system just to realize it can’t be customized to suit your nonprofit. By that point, the money’s spent and you’re stuck with an unusable system.

Instead, research and find a free or low-cost CRM for nonprofits that can help you reach your potential. Remember, your tech should save you time, not disrupt your workflow. Make sure to choose a sustainable solution that helps you develop long-term relationships with supporters.

6. Think about your future growth when choosing a free nonprofit CRM.

With the right tech solutions, you should expect to see your organization grow and develop. So why wouldn’t your nonprofit CRM grow and develop with you?

A nonprofit CRM is an important foundation for growth. It strengthens all of your strategies down the line. Starting with one early on in your growth will give you a serious advantage as you work to expand your impact and reach.

However, it can be difficult to predict your growth and future tech needs. It’s important to think about your organization’s long-term goals. Then, ensure your system supports these goals.

To determine if a database will grow with your organization, assess these features:

• Constituent Profiles. Most CRMs are priced based on the number of donor profiles they can have. Your system should fit your current number of constituents and beyond.
• Users. New team members may need access to your system as time passes, but many nonprofit CRMs also limit the number of users per system. Make sure your nonprofit CRM can accommodate your growing team.
• Features. As your nonprofit’s strategies develop, you might need access to new fundraising tools. Your CRM vendor should offer expansions and upgrades (or at least integrate with third-party software).

In short, the best software is easily expandable. If your system can’t accommodate your development, you might be left with unrecorded or incomplete data, and your relationships will suffer as a result.

Instead, choose a low-cost or free nonprofit CRM that provides you with limitless fundraising and donor support. With a system that grows with you (instead of against you), your organization will reach new heights!

Wrapping Up

A dedicated nonprofit CRM is simply something your organization can’t do without. However, most solutions come with a hefty price tag, something most nonprofits can’t afford in the long run. With many low-cost and free nonprofit CRMs on the market, your organization is sure to find a comprehensive (yet affordable) solution.

Don’t get stuck with a system that doesn’t really work for you. Go with Snowball! We’re committed to giving nonprofits the tech they need to grow their impact at an affordable rate.

Snowball’s free CRM is the perfect solution for small to mid-sized nonprofits. It allows you to smoothly navigate all your constituents, and an easy setup process means your team won’t waste time implementing the new system.

Want to continue your research? Explore these helpful resources that we think you’ll find useful:

• Best Nonprofit Software To Raise Money Fast. On the market for new nonprofit software? Check out our top suggestions!
• 14 Steps To Starting a Nonprofit: A Guide. Follow our easy-to-use guide to get your nonprofit up and running. You’ll be fundraising in no time!
• Creating a Nonprofit Digital Strategy. Explore DNL OmniMedia’s ultimate digital strategy guide. Follow their tips and reach new audiences.

The post Low-Cost and Free Nonprofit CRM Software: Picking a Platform first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Even with the most dedicated congregation and the most supportive community, there’s no way around the fact that running a church requires money. For a church to succeed, its leaders have to know how to fundraise.

There are both traditional and new ways for churches to ask for money. Traditionally, fundraising letters have been a key part of church initiatives. We still write them today because they work! Letters are one of the simplest and most direct ways to reach out to your community.

But sticking to just traditional fundraising methods will drastically limit your church’s reach. In the past decade, new online tools have taken church fundraising to new heights. Online tithing technology can spread your church’s vision farther than you may have ever thought possible.

Combining these traditional and new-yet-proven fundraising types will give your church an amazing framework for success. Read on to find out how.

Here are the types of letters we’re going to cover in this article:

• General church fundraising letters
• Mission trip fundraising letters
• Special event or project letters
• Church building or repair letters
• Sponsorship request letters
• Missionary support letters
• Gift appreciation and follow-up letters
• Bonus (that you don’t want to miss): modern church fundraising tips

Use the list above to jump straight to whichever fundraising letter template your church needs now, or explore all of them. Just be sure to review our tips for modern church fundraising at the end for more information on really making the most of these templates.

The Snowball Perspective on Church Fundraising

Letters—both physical and digital—can be extremely powerful tools for raising support, but they shouldn’t be the bedrock of your fundraising efforts. That foundation should be your church’s technology.

Leading church technologies provide free tools from which to grow your church’s support system. They give your church a platform for online tithing, in addition to keeping track of congregants’ information. That way, when it comes time to send out fundraising letters, you’ll have a structure in place to help those letters have their greatest impact.

There are plenty of free online church tools out there, but we definitely recommend looking for software that doesn’t require a programmer to install. It should be quick and easy to set up—and quick and easy for your congregants to use and share with their friends and families. With the right tools, your church’s message could spread far and wide.

Here’s what we recommend for making the most of your church fundraising letters:

1. Create an online donation page using free donation software, such as the platform we offer here at Snowball.
2. When sending out any of the following letters, invite readers to visit your online donation page. It should have a short URL and be linked to from your website, so it’s easy to find.
3. Also include your church’s website URL in the footer of your letter, along with any contact information you would like to highlight.
4. That’s it! Once readers visit your online donation page, they’ll have the option to set up recurring donations, so they can automatically tithe on a weekly or monthly basis. This option for recurring tithes is incredibly important for continued engagement and church support.

With a robust combination of traditional and digital tools, your church can raise more than ever before. Let’s get started!

Church Fundraising Letter Templates

General Church Fundraising Letter

General donation request letters should be a core part of your church’s fundraising strategies. One of the reasons that letters are an easy and effective fundraising tool is that they’re so easy to duplicate and send en masse. However, that doesn’t mean you should take a one-and-done approach. For every letter you send—especially these more general donation requests—you need to make sure to put your church’s own unique stamp on it.

These letters should feel personal, like a true person-to-person ask, instead of a plain old form letter. In this template, we’ve included plenty of suggestions for how you can customize the fundraising letter to tell your church’s particular story, engaging your community in a personal way:

Dear [Member Name],

[Begin with a story focused on your church’s recent successes, such as growth in membership or your positive impact on the surrounding community. Connect with the individual member by thanking them for being a supportive part of your community.]

While we feel blessed to have been able to [refer to successful project mentioned above], we need your help to [continue the project or pursue a new one].

With your support, we can [refer to your project or mission]. Would you consider contributing [suggested amount] to help us work toward our mission? Together, we can reach our community’s goals.

On behalf of your church community at [your church’s name], I thank you in advance for your support. Your contribution will go toward [restate goal, including specifics whenever possible]. You can give online at [insert link to online donation page] or [include text-to-tithe instructions].

Thanks again for your support of [church name]’s mission.

Sincerely,

[Name of a leader in your church]

When it comes to asking for financial support, there are good and bad ways to do it. Asking for donations in a way that doesn’t connect with your donors or tell a compelling story is unlikely to inspire much support.

Once you’ve fully personalized your donation request letter to match your church’s unique story, draft an email version with a direct link to your online donation page. That way, you’ll be sure to reach every member of your congregation.

Mission Trip Fundraising Letter

Mission trips allow your church to spread your message to the communities that need it most, but it can be very expensive to send your members on long trips. Letter fundraising is the perfect way to offset those costs and draw support from the community as a whole.

With an easily shareable digital fundraising letter, mission trip participants can reach out to other members of your congregation, as well as wider networks of friends, family, and community members.

Dear [Member Name],

You already know how valuable our community is for helping people strengthen their relationships with God and with each other. On [date of the mission trip], some of our members will have the opportunity to share our church community and our mission in [location of the mission trip].

We’re excited to spread our mission to [location], but we can’t do it without your help! Your gift will allow our mission trip participants to [purpose and details of the trip].

Would you consider contributing [suggested amount] to help us work toward our mission? Together, we can [restate major goals].

On behalf of your church community at [your church’s name], I would like to thank you in advance for supporting our mission trip to [location]. You can give online at [insert link to online donation page] or [include text-to-tithe instructions].

Thanks again for your support of [church name]’s mission.

Sincerely,

[Name of a leader in your church]

Just make sure to tell a unique story by fully customizing your letter or encouraging each participating missionary to completely customize their own. Next, email your mission trip fundraising letter to your congregation, and provide versions for your participants to easily share on social media.

This is the perfect way to kickstart a quick campaign and see how it easy it is to raise money online. You just need to provide a link to your online donation page or instructions for your text-to-give service.

Set up a free online donation page for your church.

Special Church Event or Project Fundraising Letter

Whether you’re hosting an event to bring the members of your church community closer, or developing a new program, you can use physical or digital church fundraising letters to reach out to your members for support. Customize this template, and combine it with other digital outreach strategies:

Dear [Member Name],

[Begin with a story focused on your recent successes. Remember to personalize your opening as much as possible.]

Today, we’re looking forward to our next [special event or project]. We’re planning to [specific plans and how they will benefit the community]. We need your help to make it happen!

With your support, we can [your event or project goal]. Would you consider contributing [suggested amount] to help us work toward our mission? Together, we can [details of the project].

On behalf of your church community at [your church’s name], I would like to thank you in advance for your support. Your contribution will go toward [restate goals]. You can give online at [insert link to online donation page] or [include text-to-tithe instructions].

Thanks again for your support of [church name]’s mission.

Sincerely,

[Name of a leader in your church]

Digital fundraising letters for your church’s special events and projects should be short and sweet. With a quick and easy way to distribute your letters via email, you can even send more than one message across the time frame of the whole project.

Fundraise smarter with digital tools that allow you to blast out invitations and donation requests, ensuring that your whole community can join the fun on the big day of your event or program.

Church Building or Repair Fundraising Letter

If you’re expanding your church or need money to make repairs, use a church fundraising letter to make a personal, genuine appeal for support. Your community of dedicated members will be happy to help.

Use this template to draw more attention and web traffic to your online fundraising campaign:

Dear [Member Name],

[Quickly explain the purpose of your expansion or repair project, making sure to express the urgency or importance of the project.]

We’re looking forward to [creating or repairing] this space for all of our members to use and enjoy, and we would appreciate your support for this project benefitting our church community.

With your support, we can [refer to details]. Would you consider contributing [suggested amount] to help us work toward our mission? Together, we can reach our minimum goal of [total goal or estimated total cost of repairs].

On behalf of your church community at [your church’s name], I would like to thank you in advance for your support. Your contribution will go toward [details of the project]. You can give online at [insert link to online donation page] or [include text-to-tithe instructions].

Thanks again for your support of [your church’s name] and for helping to ensure the future of our place of worship and our church community.

Sincerely,

[Name of a leader in your church]

These kinds of projects are best suited to large-scale fundraising campaigns, not just one round of fundraising letters or emails. The best strategy is to go digital and create a dedicated donation page for the expansion or repair project. The donation page should include social media sharing buttons, to spread the word far and wide. Here’s what a successful donation page looks like.

We’ll cover more fundraising strategy tips at the end of this article.

Sponsorship Request Fundraising Letter

Most of your church fundraising letters will be for your congregation, but it’s a good idea to also reach out to local businesses that might be interested in supporting your church. Use a letter like this to approach potential partners:

Dear [Business Owner or Leader Name],

On behalf of [your church’s name], I’m writing to let you know about one of the most recent projects our church has undertaken and hopes to complete. [Explain the project for which you’re asking for additional support.]

Our church has begun this necessary work because [explain the project’s urgency and potential benefits]. However, to reach our goals, we’re depending upon the help of community leaders like you.

Would you consider contributing [suggested amount] to help us work toward our mission? [Or ask for a specific in-kind donation of goods or services if relevant.] Together, we can [restate major goals for the project].

On behalf of your church community at [your church’s name], I would like to thank you in advance for supporting our goals. You can give online at [insert link to online donation page] or [include text-to-tithe instructions]. Please feel free to call us if you’d like to discuss other ways to help.

Thanks again for your support of [church name]’s mission.

Sincerely,

[Name of a leader in your church]

An effective sponsorship letter will provide a clear outline of your planned project and how that project will impact the larger community.

If your church is offering businesses incentives for supporting your project, don’t forget to include that information in the letter. These perks might include ad space and other written and spoken recognition across different types of materials and services. Once the businesses have completed their gifts, email them follow-up letters thanking them and providing confirmation of any public recognition you’ve offered.

Missionary Support Fundraising Letter

While mission trip participants only tend to travel for a few weeks or a month at a time, missionaries move to the communities they serve for much longer.

Sustaining a ministry in another community can be expensive, so missionaries and their home churches need to fundraise for support. A well-written fundraising letter can be very effective and serve as the centerpiece for a larger online campaign:

Dear [Member Name],

[Describe the good work you and your fellow missionaries are accomplishing in your location. Share some personal experiences you’ve had while serving as a missionary.]

We want to thank you and the community at [your church’s name] for your prayers, encouragement, and gifts in support of our ministry in [your location]. Your kindness allows us to continue and expand our good work here.

[If you are using this letter to ask for additional gifts, explain what you need money or materials for. Be as specific as possible, and include images where appropriate.]

Would you consider contributing [suggested amount or needed materials] to help us work toward our mission? Together, we can [restate your goals].

On behalf of your church community at [your church’s name], I would like to thank you in advance for supporting our work. You can give online at [insert link to online donation page] or [include text-to-tithe instructions].

Thanks again for your support of [church name]’s mission.

Sincerely,

[Name of a missionary or missionaries]

For missionaries, sending digital fundraising letters via email is a very good idea. It allows them to share details with wider audiences, including their friends, family members, and social media followers.

Ask recipients to share your messages on social media to launch your own peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Just make sure your letter directs readers to a clear way to make donations online. Use fundraising software to track your progress and identify ways to keep improving your strategies. With a little extra tech on your side, your fundraising letter can be a game-changer for your mission!

Get free fundraising software.

Gift Appreciation and Follow-Up Letter

Always remember to send a thoughtful thank you letter to each member who contributes a gift. Personalize the letter as much as possible. Thank yous and follow-ups are the best and easiest way to strengthen your relationship with new donors.

A well-planned follow-up letter will look like this:

Dear [Member Name],

Here at [your church’s name], community is central to everything we do. We’re writing today to thank you for your recent gift, which helps ensure our community’s future.

[Include a description of how your church will use the member’s gift. If they gave to a specific project, this section should restate that project’s goals. If they gave generally, refer to your church’s regular expenses here. Remember to mention the ways in which giving and generosity fit into your church’s broader mission.]

[You may wish to include a section in this letter encouraging recurring giving. If so, you can include online donations, text-to-give, and traditional giving information here, as well as a way to set up recurring gifts.]

On behalf of [your church’s name], I would like to thank you again for supporting [restate specific initiative or project] and our community.

Thanks again for your support of our mission. You’ve helped to make a difference.

Sincerely,

[Name of a leader in your church]

Remember to send your gift appreciation letters as soon as possible after your members make their gifts! Members who make their gifts online or via text-to-give should receive an automated thank-you response that doubles as a record of their gift. You can also send a longer thank-you letter via email after your church receives the gift.

A heartfelt and personalized appreciation letter is an excellent way to encourage repeat gifts and ensure continued support for your church community and programs. It’s also a great place to encourage recurring online donations.

Tips for Modern Church Fundraising

Before your team dives into letter writing, consider your toolkit. Today, you need much more than just pencil and paper to effectively collect funds for your church goals. You need to be thoughtful and provide supporters with plenty of convenient ways to help. After all, people generally don’t have much cash on hand these days.

Churches can still use traditional fundraising methods like letters, collection plates, and community events and be very successful, but it’s important to combine them with digital tools, to make sure they’re raising as much as possible.

Consider these tips:

• Use your fundraising letter templates to compose email messages, too. Segment your email recipients into different groups based on what kind of fundraising message is most appropriate for them, and use email or fundraising software to manage and schedule your emails.
• Set up a web page for your main fundraising activities and for any other major fundraising projects you undertake. This creates a clear online location to direct members to, and it makes it much easier to track your progress toward certain goals.
• Set up a text-to-give number. This giving method is incredibly easy for donors to use, and it’s a great choice for churches. Ask congregants to make donations on their phones when you’d normally pass the collection plate.
• Make the most of social media. This is a powerful tool for raising more money and expanding your community. Encourage your members to share your campaigns and posts with their friends and family online.
• Allow your members to feel more involved whenever possible. Give them options for where their gifts will be directed, so they can choose the part of the new project they’d most like to help fund. Use an online donation form that lets members include this information with their donation.
• Capitalize on pledges. This is an extremely effective fundraising style because it’s all about speed and emotional fulfillment. With the help of your online fundraising software, you can collect pledges from your members and other supporters, who agree to finalize their gifts at a later date.

A lot of software companies offer these tools and services, but at Snowball, we offer a basic account that’s completely free, with top-notch tech to match. We believe in giving nonprofits and other community-based organizations unlimited everything, so you can fully customize your fundraising and keep track of your results.

We started Snowball to help unlock more generosity in the world. For us, this means getting the best technology into the hands of good people trying to do good work for others. It’s also why we’ve made it easy to get all your fundraising tools set up in just minutes.

Take some time to reflect on your church and its vision for your community. Write down your goals, talk to your church leadership and other community members, and get the right tools ready to go.

Now, get fundraising! In no time, your fundraising efforts will be Snowballing. For more information on how you can raise money for your church, check out these additional resources:

• 85+ Awesome Church Fundraising Ideas. Writing fundraising letters is just one way you can raise money for your cause. If you’re looking for more fundraising ideas, we have a list of dozens of ideas to get you started!
• 10 Practical Online Giving Lessons for Churches. Just like nonprofits, churches can use online donations as a way to accept tithes and additional gifts when you need extra support. Learn about 10 ways you can improve your church’s online donations.
• 15+ Great Strategies for Church Newsletters. Newsletters—when used correctly—can be a vital component of your church’s fundraising efforts, because they help keep your parishioners informed about current events and new tithing methods. Our guide features 15+ strategies you can use to produce a quality newsletter for your congregation.

The post Church Fundraising Letters: An Essential Guide for 2020 and Beyond first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

How you communicate with your congregation is vital for building and maintaining relationships. Trust between congregants and church leadership relies on open lines of communication so church members can participate in and understand their church’s practices. 

After all, effective communication practices lead to a strengthened community and increased transparency, two essential factors for maintaining a spiritually prosperous body of believers.

We’ve compiled the best tips, tricks, and templates for common church letters to your congregation. Whether you’re stuck and don’t know what to say, or you’re not quite sure how to get your message across, this comprehensive collection of resources is here to help.

• Church Communication FAQ
• Best Practices for Church Communication Letters
• Sample Church Communication Letters
• Sample Church Fundraising Letters

For organizations of all sizes and types, digital engagement and virtual fundraising have evolved, and core communication strategies have changed along with them. Mastering these church letter strategies will not only help you write better letters, but it will strengthen your outreach across the board, too. Let’s dive in.

Church Communication Letters FAQ 

If strategic communication is a new concept for you and your church family, you likely have some questions. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions concerning church-wide communication to give you a better idea of what you’re stepping into.

Why should I send church letters?

Church letters are a great way to keep your congregants up-to-date with all things happening within your church community. One specific genre of church letter—fundraising request letters—are a tried-and-true standard for churches looking to raise a significant amount from their congregations. They’re effective because they’re personal, meaningful, and thoughtful! 

When should I send church letters?

Timing your church letters is key to reaping the maximum benefits. You generally want to send out an invitation six weeks prior to any fundraising or church-wide event. Doing so will give your team plenty of time to plan your event and allow your church’s members to pencil it into their schedule, boosting attendance. As for other types of fundraising and church communication letters, it depends on your needs and your church’s calendar.

What should I include in a church letter or newsletter?

Be sure to include a brief history of the church as well as current events, special projects, volunteer opportunities, and other ways members can get involved. Some church letters may be strictly informational, while others maintain an emphasis on giving. For your fundraising focused letters, include a link or detailed instructions for making a donation.

The actual contents of a church newsletter vary from congregation to congregation, but the theme remains the same— keeping everyone up-to-date with church happenings. It’s a great place to inform readers about upcoming and recent events, as well as offer an invitation for each recipient to get involved! Newsletters may go out on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis to a church and its members, but be sure to maintain a fixed schedule.

How do you begin and end a letter from a church?

Your church should strive to begin every piece of communication by personally addressing the recipient. Even when sent to every member of your congregation, direct letters are a form of one-on-one communication and your opening should reflect that. While your church members are valued members of your congregation as a whole, avoid addressing them as a general, impersonal group.

You can end your church letters on a meaningful note by having your pastor or a member of your church’s leadership sign your ending sincerely. This adds a special touch to handwritten letters and allows the recipient to see the thought and effort that goes into each and every one.

How do you write a church invitation or welcome letter?

Church invitation letters are for individuals who have never attended your church before, and thus unfamiliar with your church’s history, mission, and schedule. This letter serves as both an invitation and an introduction to your church. Stick to conversational, friendly language and provide a brief summary of your church’s history along with an invitation to an upcoming event or gathering. 

Church welcome letters are for recipients who have attended your church once or twice. These individuals likely already understand most of the basics of your church, so your letter should focus on inspiring participation in upcoming events where your new members can get acquainted with your church’s community on a more personal level. Recognize their previous attendance to make them feel seen, and then extend an invitation to an upcoming event. 

Should I send church letters via email or direct mail?

Emails are wonderful for fundraising— they’re efficient, effective, and inexpensive. But they can also come off as impersonal, and no one saves a nice email. Letters add that little something extra, and that personal touch can mean a lot to congregants. For most congregations, the answer involves finding a perfect combination of both mediums for the best results.

Best Practices for Church Communication Letters

There are many ways to write a church letter, and the most effective strategies will depend on your congregation and your church leadership’s relationship with their members. However, whether your church’s correspondence is casual or formal, these best practices will create more vibrant lines of communication for both new church letter writers and those looking for a refresher.

1. Start with the P.S.

Eye-motion studies have proven that the majority of letter recipients scan first for their names and read the P.S. line shortly thereafter. For those who do read a letter from start to finish, the P.S. will be the last thing they read and will stick in their memory. Start writing your fundraising letters with this fact in mind. Think of an important fact, message, or reminder as you start drafting your letter and slip it in as your P.S. to ensure it doesn’t get overlooked. 

2. Invest in your envelopes.

Before your letter is even opened, recipients will see your envelope and make assumptions about its contents. If you want congregants to open your mail and engage with its message, try investing in your envelopes first by using quality materials and engaging visual designs. 

Giving your letter recipients an easy way to respond or send a check in the mail can increase your response rates, especially for your fundraising-specific letters. Include a simple stamped and addressed return envelope, so donating will be fast and easy for your busy church members. Be sure to clearly state the URL of your online donation page, too.

3. Focus more on “you” than “me.”

It can be easy to fall into the trap of talking about all the great things your church is doing, but you can make your church members feel more integral to their community by emphasizing how they are the ones doing great things. Seeing their efforts and past engagement recognized as important will make churchgoers more invested in continuing to participate in church activities. 

Your church letters can often accomplish this with subtle language choices. For example, instead of saying “Our church collected 500 cans for the food drive,” say, “Our dedicated church members collected 500 cans for the food drive.” This framing directly credits those who donated, which makes them feel seen and appreciated.

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4. Provide instructions for donating online.

In case your recipients don’t want to sign, seal, and send a check, be sure to allow other giving methods as well. Provide readers with quick, easy, and secure ways to give on their computers or mobile devices instead. Include an easy-to-follow link (with detailed instructions) to your online donation page, your text-to-give number, and other donation methods your church has set up ahead of time. With a streamlined donation platform like Snowball, users can submit a gift online in less than a minute!

5. Keep the formatting easy-to-read.

Nothing’s worse than a letter that’s too hard to read due to too-small, brightly-colored, or strange-looking font. Your font should be appropriate and easy-to-read on a solid, light-colored background. If you want to overlay text on images or multi-colored backgrounds, use editing tools to create a shadow under your font or outline letters in black. If you’re ever in doubt about what color font to use, remember that white text outlined in black has high contrast and will be legible on any background. 

6. Express gratitude throughout.

Few things encourage donations more than being thoughtful and thankful. Thank your letter recipients for their time, consideration, and for any past donations they may have made. It never hurts to thank someone multiple times, and personalizing thank you messages to include specific details about their donation (such as if it was at or for a specific cause) will elevate your letter above a generic thank you. 

7. Establish a foundation of church software.

Include a link to your church’s website somewhere in the letter, such as in the header or footer. This will let supporters know where they can go to get more information about events and updates mentioned in your letter, driving further engagement. 

For fundraising letters, your donors will appreciate the option to donate from your website. Be sure to already have your online donation page set up and featured on your website, so letter recipients will know exactly where they can go to support your church.

8. Ensure a well-written letter.

Your letters’ tone should match your church’s culture to keep messaging consistent with what your members hear when they attend week-to-week. For example, if your church is a community gathering spot with a friendly, welcoming voice, make sure that tone is conveyed when putting together your church letters. 

It always helps to have another person read through the letter before you press “send” to catch any finicky commas or other typos. In addition to basic grammar, language should be clear, concise, and compelling to create a pleasant reading experience. 

By taking these considerations to mind, you can set your team up for a successful letter-writing campaign. Whether your goal is to bring in new fundraising revenue or simply to build relationships, follow these guidelines for success. 

9. Personalize your salutations and closings.

“Dear John,” is already a more personal conversation than “To Whom it May Concern,” or even “Dear churchgoer.” Everybody likes to be addressed by name in a way that makes them feel special—in this case like a significant member of the church family. Keep careful track of your church members’ personal information and past participation so each recipient can receive a letter tailored to them. 

10. Work with a dedicated direct mail platform.

Working with a dedicated direct mail fundraising platform can take the pressure off your own fundraising team. Plus, low-cost (yet effective) fundraising services like GivingMail can help you raise more for less than it would cost to print and mail your fundraising letters on your own. Direct mail platforms can also be a valuable resource if your church ever has questions about its mailing practices and campaigns. 

11. Customize church letter templates to fit your needs.

Templates can be useful tools for structuring your letters and ensuring you don’t leave out important details, especially if you’re writing your first letter. However, a vague request for money is not likely to bring in many responses. 

Take the time to customize your templates to your church by talking specifically about any special projects or events in need of some extra funding and where that funding will go. The clearer the picture you paint, the more likely the recipient will be willing to give.

Sample Church Communication Letters

All church letters are a method of communicating with your congregation and thus share certain characteristics. However, there are many types of letters and each serves a different purpose within your church’s overall communication strategy.

Most church letters can be divided into one of two categories based on their purpose: communication letters and fundraising letters. Yet even within those groups, the possibilities are endless.

These church letter templates can be adapted and used to communicate with your congregation in a way that suits your church’s needs. Here are examples of the most highly-demanded church communication and fundraising letters to get you started on your letter-writing journey!

Welcome letters

Your church’s welcome letters should include a warm and inviting greeting. Be sure to thank the recipient for attending and encourage them to come back again soon. The sooner you send a welcome letter after someone has visited your church, the better. If you wait too long to reach out, they may think you’ve forgotten them!

SUBJECT: Thank you for visiting [Church name]!

We’re so glad you joined us at [Church name] this past [day of the week, probably Sunday].

I hope you got the opportunity to mingle with some of our church family this week. We’d love the chance to get to know you [and your family] better. 

Here are some upcoming events we’d love to see you at! We hold a church service every [day(s) of the week] at [time(s) of service]. We also meet for [other activities— bible studies, community groups, volunteer opportunities].

Feel free to reach out at [email] or [phone number] to learn more about how you can get involved!

Hope to see you soon,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to learn more about us and get involved!

Newsletters

Church newsletters usually include news about current and future events in the church, including weddings, baptisms, mission trips, and summer camps, as well as past events and ongoing projects. Newsletters can be sent out on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis—just keep the publication on a consistent schedule so your members won’t be left wondering when their next update is coming.

SUBJECT: Another incredible month at [Church name].

Here at [Church name], we [brief summary of mission statement].

That’s why we take the time and resources to invest in [ongoing project or program] and [ongoing project or program].

This upcoming [timeframe], we are hosting [event] and we would love for you to join us! On [date] at [time], we will be [description of event]. Contact us if you’re interested in getting involved.

This past [timeframe], we have completed [project or event] which had an excellent turnout. Over [number of attendees or other metric] came out to [activity] with us!

Thank you for all of your continued prayer and support.

Best,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to learn more about what’s happening at [Church name].

Letters of invitation

A letter of invitation includes an explicit invitation to join the church as an official member. The letter should also include a membership card to fill out and mail back, as well as any instructions for informational meetings to learn more. As soon as you’re ready to invite a new member into your congregation, you can send out a letter of invitation.

SUBJECT: Welcome to the [Church name] family, [recipient name]!

We see you’ve been attending [Church name] for a while now, and we’re hoping you might be ready to take the next step— becoming a member.

To us, membership means [brief summary of membership at your church]. We are a [denomination] church that believes [brief summary of mission statement].

If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a member, please contact [pastor’s name] at [email] or [phone number].

[If applicable] We’ll be hosting an informational meeting on [date] at [time] in [location] for all interested in taking this next step.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to read more about what we believe— and what it means to be a member.

Missionary letters

Missionary letters include key updates about the communities in which missionaries are serving. Some will ask for additional support, but often they’re simply informational. Missionaries can send out updates as frequently as they’re able but it’s most common for them to be sent monthly.

SUBJECT: Keep [missionaries’ names] in your prayers.

Many of you know [name of missionaries], our missionaries currently stationed in [location]. They’ve been a part of our church family since [brief summary of their history with your church].

The team currently consists of [names of each individual including children] who have been overseas for [length of time].

They are currently working in [location] to [overall goals] by [specific activity] and [specific activity].

As always, the [name of missionaries] welcome your prayers and support.

 Thanks,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to stay up-to-date with all of our missionaries’ work.

Letters to inactive members

A letter to an inactive member should include empathy for the person whose church attendance has recently declined, and a sincere request for them to return. Ask if there’s anything your church family can be praying for as well! You should let a reasonable amount of time pass before reaching out. For instance, if a regular attendee hasn’t been seen in months, it might be time to send a thoughtful letter.

SUBJECT: [Recipient’s name], we miss you at [Church name]!

Long time, no see! We noticed it’s been a while since you’ve attended one of our services and just wanted to reach out again and see if there’s anything we can do.

We’d love to hear more about your current phase of life and how we can be praying alongside you.

Please join us for a worship service on [date] at [time], or take part in one of our community events!

We hope to see you soon.

Best,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to get involved again.

Letters of recommendation

If a member has come to you for a letter of recommendation, you should make sure that it’s specific, sincere, and succinct. Take the lead from the recommended party, and make sure you adhere to whatever deadlines they specify. Nothing is worse than a late letter of recommendation!

SUBJECT: Letter of recommendation for [individual’s name].

[Individual] is a [positive characteristic], [positive characteristic], and [positive characteristic] person.

Throughout the [length of time] I’ve known [individual], I’ve gotten to see a wonderful person develop and grow.

Through our time working together at [experience] and [experience], I know [individual] is a [positive characteristic], [positive characteristic] individual that anyone would be lucky to have.

 Sincerely,

[Your name]

[Your title]

Letters of transfer

Letters of transfer include information about the member’s standing with your church as well as a request for notification when the new membership begins. These letters should be sent as soon as possible after a member notifies you that they’d like to transfer their membership to a different church.

SUBJECT: Letter of transfer from [old church] to [new church].

To [new church],

This certifies that [individual] is a member in good standing at [old church] since [date of original membership].

At their own request, [individual] would like their membership to be transferred.

We affectionately recommend [individual] to join your fellowship, and wish you all the best of luck.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email] or [phone number].

Best,

[Your name]

[Your title]

Letters of resignation

Whenever a member of your leadership retires or transfers churches, it’s important to send out a church-wide letter of resignation. This should include a brief explanation, an expression of gratitude, and a tentative plan going forward. Send this letter as soon as they feel comfortable enough to make the announcement to the entire congregation.

SUBJECT: [Leader’s name] will miss you all!

I regret to inform you that I, [title] of [Church name], will be [resigning/transferring to new church] within [length of time until it takes effect].

I will miss all of you at [Church name], but ultimately feel that God is calling me to [new church/location/career].

Due to [brief summary of reasoning], I have decided this is the best choice for myself and my family.

I appreciate every single one of you for the environment and experiences at [Church name], and it is an opportunity I will forever cherish.

Feel free to reach out to me at [email] or [phone number] for any further questions or concerns.

Best of luck,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] for any updates and to stay in-the-know.

Sample Church Fundraising Letters

Strategically crafted church fundraising letters have the power to raise more for your church’s top needs. Whether you’re planning to send these appeals via email or direct mail, here are some fundraising letter templates and examples to give you a headstart.

Church donation letters

Church donation letters include information about the current state of the church and how continued donations would help further those goals. Donation request letters can be sent out multiple times throughout the year—there’s no one “perfect” time to send out a church donation letter, though the holiday season often sees increased giving rates. 

SUBJECT: [Recipient’s name], we could use your support.

[Church name] is a community dedicated to [brief summary of mission statement]. That’s why we make it a part of our mission to [activity or project] and [activity or project].

Projects like these are able to be completed thanks to generous contributions from churchgoers like you.

Would you prayerfully consider giving to our church and joining in the mission to [overall goal of the church]?

Thank you in advance,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to make a donation in seconds.

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Special event or project letters

Special event or special project letters should include specific details about the time, place, and date of the event, as well as information detailing your specific monetary needs. Event letters should be sent out at least six weeks before the event, and special project letters should also be sent out fairly early as well.

SUBJECT: We’re planning [event or project]. You can help.

You’re invited to our [name of event] taking place on [date] at [time] at [location].

Even more than that, you’re invited to become a part of the dedicated team that makes pulling off events like these possible.

Our goal is to raise [fundraising goal in dollars] by [end of fundraising campaign] so that this event can be an exciting and successful time.

Would you be interested in helping fund our [special project] and being a part of the good we’re doing here at [Church name]?

Thanks,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to give or learn more about [event or project].

Sponsorship request letters

Sponsorship requests should include specific information about the event or project that needs sponsoring and include any benefits that sponsorship can offer an individual or business—such as advertising and good publicity. Church sponsorship letters should be sent out several months prior to the start of the event or project that’s being funded.

SUBJECT: Help us fund [event or project]. 

We at [Church name] are [brief summary of church mission and background].

We are currently fundraising for [event or project] and are looking for some dedicated, generous sponsors like you.

Through [event or project], we are looking to [purpose of event or project] together. This is so important because [significance of event or project].

By becoming an official sponsor of our [event or project], we can offer you specific benefits as well. Not only will you receive quality advertising at our event, but you can also improve the standing of your business within the community.

We are currently seeking sponsors at these levels [suggested fee], [suggested fee], and [suggested fee] that will receive [sponsor perks].

If interested, please contact us at [email] or [phone number].

Thank you for your consideration,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to learn more about us and how you can help.

Auction item request letters

Auction item request letters should include concrete information about your upcoming auction and a direct ask regarding any items you need for it. You should make sure to send out your request letters at least three months before your planned auction to allow for the greatest results.

SUBJECT: How can you help out with our annual auction?

As you may know, we host an annual fundraising auction at [Church name]. With this year’s event quickly approaching on [date], it’s time to start collecting valuable items for auction!

We are currently seeking auction items like [example], [example],  and [example]. 

If you have other suggestions or know of a different item or service you’d like to donate, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you’re able, please help our auction be a success by donating gift cards, merchandise, services, and more.

For more information on how to get involved with our annual auction, feel free to reach out to [name] at [email] or [phone number].

Best,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] for updated information on our annual auction and how you can help.

Church building or repair letters

Church building or repair letters should include details about the construction plans with specific needs addressed directly in the letter. Minor repair letters should be sent out a few weeks in advance, while major repairs and large construction projects necessitate letters be sent out a year beforehand.

SUBJECT: Help us [repair, expand, build] our house of worship.

Here at [Church name], we know that the building is not what defines the church. The body of believers defines the church, but the building is a special place to convene and worship together.

However, sometimes it’s important to invest time and resources into building and maintaining our worship space.

That’s why we are choosing to [repair, expand, build] our house of worship in the upcoming [timeframe].

Our plan is to [brief summary of building plans] in order to [main purpose].

Yet we can’t do it alone. Please consider donating to our church building fund and being a part of the change and expansion the Lord has in store for us.

Thanks,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to make a donation and be the first to know about any updates.

Mission trip letters

Mission trip letters typically detail the plans for the trip and the needs of the community being served, as well as information about the trip’s overall cost. Be sure to send out mission trip letters potentially four or five months in advance of the trip itself to help pay for plane tickets and other travel expenses. 

SUBJECT: Can you support our mission trip to [location]?

We’re going to [location]! Here at [Church name], we’ve gathered a team that’s heading to [location] on a [length of trip] mission trip this upcoming [week/month of trip].

The team is comprised of [number of participants] [youth, young adults, all ages, etc.] that have a heart for missions and spreading the word of God.

In [location], we plan to [event or activity], [event or activity], and [event or activity]. This is important because [describe the need and what you can offer].

Are you able to support our team as we prepare to travel to [location] within the next several months?

Best,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to support our mission trip and learn more about what we’ll be doing.

Missionary support letters

Missionary support letters, as opposed to mission trip letters, tend to support long-term missionaries working overseas. They’re sent from the field and include updates on the places being served and direct asks for support. These letters can be sent whenever a missionary in the field feels that they need extra help for a particular project.

SUBJECT: Support our missionaries in [location].

[Names of missionaries], our dedicated missionaries stationed in [location] need your help!

[Names of missionaries] are currently working with the individuals of [location] to [overall objective]. They’re doing so by [activity], [activity], and [activity].

That’s why they’re humbly requesting monetary support from our church congregation to help them as they spread the Good News around the world.

Please consider making a donation and being a part of what God is doing in [location] today.

Thanks for the support,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to support [missionaries’ names] and learn about their mission.

Thank-you letters

Thank you letters should include a “thank-you.” But they should also provide recipients with an idea of how their contributions (monetary or otherwise) made a difference. Send thank-you letters as soon as possible, typically within 48 hours of a donation or event is the best practice.

SUBJECT: Your gift makes our mission possible.

[Recipient],

Thank you so much for your generous contribution of [amount of donation] on [date of donation].

Because of supporters like you, we are able to [brief summary of mission statement].

Recently, funding has gone towards [current or recent project] and [current or recent project].

We appreciate your gift and can’t wait to see how the Lord will continue to use it in great ways.

Thank you again,

[Your name]

[Your title]

P.S. Check out our website at [URL] to stay up-to-date on how your generous donation is helping us make a difference.

Pro tips for using church letter templates

Your church letters should be personalized to each recipient for maximum engagement and increased responses. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea to use templates. It just means it’s important to take the time to adjust any templates to meet your own church’s needs.

Here are some of our top tips for utilizing these church letter templates to your best advantage:

• Be conversational in your writing. You’re writing to your church members, not your 12th grade English teacher. Feel free to write as though you’re talking directly to your audience. No need to be overly formal, especially considering you likely already have personal relationships with much of the audience.
• Customize the letter to include relevant information. Templates are vague so many churches can make use of them. Add extra information about your church’s mission, upcoming events, and other matters of import for your church community to make your letters relevant to your members.
  
• Personalize each address and content. Addressing your church members by name will make them feel like part of your church’s family. You can further make your members feel seen by including details specific to your recipient, such as referencing past volunteer work.
• Get creative with your design. Create visually appealing letters your church members will want to hold onto. Use colored paper or graphic designs on the front of your cards and package them in high-quality envelopes. 

By implementing these simple tips, you can substantially improve your personal fundraising efforts and draw in revenue from new and established church members alike.

Wrapping Up

Church letters are a great way to stay up-to-date with your entire congregation as well as make personalized requests for donations. Your communication letters set you up for strengthened relationships with church members, while your fundraising letters lay the foundation for a successful giving campaign.

However, it’s important that you first have a strong foundation of fundraising software in place, to which you can direct eager donors to make their gifts. You can get started with Snowball’s free suite of fundraising software and begin building your foundation today!

For more information on church fundraising and maintaining effective communication with your churchgoers, see the following resources:

• Church Fundraising Letters: An Essential Guide For 2020 And Beyond. Looking for more fundraising letters? Check out this guide for new examples and tips.
• Church Newsletters: Complete Guide For Modern Communication. Church newsletters are a great way to make sure your whole church stays on the same page with current events and past accomplishments.
• Church Management Tips: 20+ Ways To Grow Your Ministry. Are you looking to expand your church? Here are some of our best ways to grow your ministry and bring new members into your flock!
• 85+ Awesome Church Fundraising Ideas For Your Congregation. Check out these unique and engaging fundraising ideas to raise money for your church— whether for mission trips, building upgrades, or daily operations.
• Virtual Fundraising: The Complete Guide for 2020 & Beyond. If your church is looking for new ways to implement virtual fundraising strategies into your overall plan, this guide can help ease the transition.

The post Church Communication Letters & Samples [With Useful Tips] first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Managing your members can seem like an overwhelming task, but by breaking it up into smaller, manageable sections, you can see how easy it is to keep your members happy and your organization running smoothly.

Let’s take a look at those simple steps now.

1. Select the right member management software.
2. Keep your member data clean and updated.
3. Track your members’ engagement.
4. Segment your members for optimized communications.
5. Encourage matching gifts awareness.
6. Communicate with your members frequently.
7. Always say thank you to your members.

By following these seven steps, you can be on your way to managing your members with ease. Let’s get started.

1. Select the right member management software.

There are so many different types of membership management software out there, so you have to make sure that you’re choosing the right one.

In general, your software has to be compatible with your mission, be easy to use for everyone on the team, and run smoothly. But what else is important to keep in mind?

Take a good look at your organization and consider its needs. What does your software absolutely have to be able to do? Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Integration abilities with your existing software
• Communications options
• Member directory maintenance
• Member participation and purchase history
• Analytics and reporting abilities

Of these factors, the most important might be its integration abilities.

You don’t want to purchase a member management software only to find out that your email platform or matching gifts database can’t work with it.

No two organizations are the same, so you’re going to need the software that best fits your nonprofit’s individual needs!

If you’re an admissions-based nonprofit like a museum, you’ll have different preferences than a donations-based nonprofit. Head over to Doubleknot’s ultimate guide to museum software to make sure you’re getting the right program.

2. Keep your member data clean and updated.

All the data in the world won’t do you any good if it’s hard to understand or out of date.

For this reason, we recommend that you stay on top of your member data. Keep a variety of ways to contact them on hand, and make sure that this information remains accurate.

Consider implementing a yearly reminder email to your members to update their:

• Home address.
• Cell phone.
• Home phone numbers
• Email addresses.

Occasionally, you may have members legally change their names. Make sure you can change their profile to reflect that information!

Keeping contact information accurate is the best way to keep track of your members and ensure that they know what’s going at with your organization so they can make the most of their membership.

Another way to keep your member data clean and organized is to ensure that either your team goes through your directory every once in a while to delete duplicate accounts, or that your software has a deduplication program.

Not only do duplicate programs skew with your membership data, but they cause an annoyance for the member if they receive emails, letters, and calls repeatedly.

One more way to remove this annoyance is to allow families to have linked profiles. This way, you can plan direct mail or phone campaigns by household, instead of by individual. This will save you printing and shipping costs as well as time.

If you really want to maintain an accurate database, and your membership software allows you, consider letting your members maintain their profiles themselves. This way, you can ensure that the data is accurate, without having to track down the members themselves to ask.

We know that this can sound like too much work, especially if members are prone to forgetting their passwords. Try Swoop’s list of password alternatives to find a more convenient solution for your supporters.

3. Track your member’s engagement.

Your members’ profiles shouldn’t be just based in who they are. They should include what they do, as well!

Members’ activities might vary by organization, but all of them, from museums to animal shelters, can benefit from understanding what engages their members.

Optimize your data-gathering techniques by collecting information about your members’ engagement with your nonprofit by tracking how they interact with your cause. This can include different actions for different nonprofits, but some common ones are:

• Purchases of merchandise
• Donations to your organization
• Visits, if you’re an admissions-based nonprofit
• Event attendance
• Volunteer participation

By knowing how your members interact with your organization most, you can adapt and vitalize your recruitment campaign. Do the majority of your members attend your fundraising events? Reach out to non-members at those events and explain membership perks.

Don’t forget to make sure that you’re counting both online and traditional methods of donation. While traditional donations are still massively popular, online donations are becoming more and more popular.

You can also use this data to keep track of which membership benefits are being utilized most often. Are your members-only parties a hot social event? Or is free parking at your museum the biggest draw?

Members’ donation patterns are also a goldmine of information. Which seasons are most fruitful for your organization? Which campaign strategies have paid off the most? Use these insights to plan your next campaign.

4. Segment your members for optimized communications.

Now that you have all of this data, how can you make it work for you?

Use the information you’ve collected to refine your communication strategies! If you know your members, you can specifically target them with relevant content.

What are some ways you can segment your members?

• Supporters who are parents
• Retirement status
• Age groups, like young adults or those over 35
• Gender identification

By knowing these demographic markers, you can make some educated assumptions about your constituents to more intentionally send them relevant and interesting information.

Parents with children would love to know about Kids Nights or other fun programming ideas aimed at a younger crowd that your organization might be holding.

Young adults, especially young professionals, might be more interested in networking nights or informational dinners, especially with museums.

You can also track more personal information in their member profiles, once your organization interacts with them more frequently. Do they tag your nonprofit in social media posts? Make a note of their handle.

If they’ve ever filled out a survey for you regarding your nonprofit’s work, keep that survey accessible from their profile so that you know what your nonprofit does that drew and kept their attention.

5. Encourage matching gifts awareness.

When collecting information about your members, consider asking them for their employer. This tidbit of information is both useful for segmentation and for increasing your organization’s donations.

An employer’s matching gifts policy refers to when they give an amount of money to an organization because their employee donated money. All too often, the only reason more people don’t take advantage of this easy way to increase their impact is because they don’t know about it!

Keeping track of your members’ employers is a great way to maximize these programs. If you know their employer, once they make a donation, you can use a matching gifts database software to check if their gift is eligible and then send them the necessary paperwork.

If you already have this information, check if any of your members work for any of the following companies known for their generous matching gifts programs:

• General Electric
• Soros Fund Management
• BP
• Gap Corporation
• ExxonMobile
• CarMax
• Johnson & Johnson
• Choice Hotel
• Microsoft
• Coca-Cola

This is far from an extensive list, but it’s a good start. And if your members are more frequently volunteers than donors, find out if their employers offer a volunteer grant program.

A volunteer grant program donates money to an organization that an employee volunteers for, based on hours of work.

Taking advantage of corporate philanthropy is a fantastic way to keep your members involved and engaged, without requiring them to dig any deeper into their own wallets.

6. Communicate with your members frequently.

Don’t let your only interaction with your members be to ask for money! A great way to keep them involved is to use your membership database to keep in touch with your members.

Your members have become members because of their dedication to your nonprofit and their desire to be more involved than a casual patron. Don’t be afraid to keep them updated on everything going on in the organization.

While you’ll naturally let them know about upcoming fundraising or pledge campaigns, also keep them in the loop on different projects and activities!

Email them monthly newsletter updates regarding the projects your organization is taking on, or consider drafting a members-only newsletter to keep them updated on membership benefits or special members-only events coming up.

Having all this information on your members stored in one place is a great way to make your organization’s connection with them more personal. Try some of these effective communication strategies:

• Is someone having a birthday? Send a card or sweet email.
• Did someone have a child or get married? Say congratulations.
• Has someone been absent from events for a while? Say that you miss them.
• Just finished an annual report or impact report? Send it to them!

Frequent communication will keep your organization in the forefront of their minds, as well as demonstrate to them that your organization cares about them.

7. Always say thank you to your members.

An easy way to retain members and keep them coming back to your organization is to ensure that you always make them feel appreciated for their efforts.

There are a variety of ways to do this, from in person to via email, but the key is to do it regularly.

Put a thank-you section in your organization’s newsletters where you recognize that month’s donors, as well as sending a personal note or email to the donor.

Say thank-you to your members during speeches at events for their continuing support of your shared mission and their belief in your organization.

After all, no one has to become a patron or member of a nonprofit. Their membership, whether it is to a museum, an animal shelter, or any other type of nonprofit organization, is a way for them to express their support for the cause. They deserve to feel appreciated!

Managing your members doesn’t have to be a Herculean task. With some smart software and a game plan, you can make the most of your membership program and ensure that your members have a strong connection with your organization.

Your members are the backbone of your organization, and keeping them happy keeps your nonprofit happy. A strong membership strategy is a great way to do it.

Author Bio

Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of tools to nonprofits to help them raise more money from corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs. Connect with Adam via email or on LinkedIn.

The post Managing Your Members: 7 Tips for a Seamless Strategy first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.