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• Jesus, put my heart in the right place when it comes to this appeal. What do I need to surrender to You?
• Help me to be generous and a cheerful giver as I am also inviting donors to do the same. 
• What is the vision or need you want me to present? 
• Who do you want me to invite to give?
• Is there anyone I need to be reminded of that I don't normally ask? 
• How much are You directing me to raise?
• Will You give me the capacity/ bravery/ diligence to ask individuals and faithfully follow up with them? 

Scripture to reflect on:

• Matt 6:19-21
• 2 Corinthians 9:7
• Hebrews 13:16

Hint: It's not about the money.It's about giving people an opportunity to invest in something they care about.

Can't decide? Try starting with a $10,000 goal. 

Since the year-end appeal resonates with a different type of giver than your normal monthly donor, you'll need to pull some reports to discover who would be strategic to invite into this opportunity. 

Those you want to invite to give at year-end include:

• High-capacity donors – Wealthy individuals.
• Irregular givers – Can’t or don’t give monthly due to unpredictable income.
• Prompted givers – Only give when asked.
• Year-end givers – Prefer to give at the end of the year.
• Potential givers – You want to invite them into giving but aren't sure how to start the conversation.
• Re-engagement givers – You’ve asked before (maybe awkwardly) and want to try again.

This type of appeal is usually not for: 

• Recent special ask folks – You’ve asked them for a gift in the last 6–9 months.
• New team members – Joined your team recently (within 6–9 months).
• Potential monthly givers – You’re planning to ask them to start monthly giving.

Run reports and build your list: 

• Search Toolbox for special gift donors who gave $500< in a single gift within the last 3 yrs. 
  • How to find special gift history with Toolbox. 
  • If all the people in this report give this year the same amount they gave previously, how much does that add up to? Is that close to meeting your year-end ask goal? If not, you might want to change your search parameters and also ask the Lord to show you who else to add to your contact list. 
• Look at your Mail Chimp engagement. Add to your list the people who are reading your prayer letters but not currently giving. *If you don’t have Mail Chimp, just look at your prayer letter list and consider including those who have never given. 

Take a snapshot of your current giving so you can see who gives or increases in the coming months. 

• From Toolbox, go to MTD Reporting/Received Gifts/filter by recurring. Print or save for your records.
  • Here's a more detailed tutorial with pictures.

JANUARY: Compare giving to that snapshot to see if anything changed. 

Choose 20-40 people to engage one-on-one.

The one-on-one, personal invitation to give is the key component to an effective year-end appeal. 

1. Personally invite them to give. Phone call, Zoom or in-person. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
   

   📱 Text — Send a quick heads-up that something meaningful is coming.
   📧 Email/Physical Mail — Share your full appeal letter with vision, invitation, and giving info. PS: We'll write your letter for you!
   📞 Phone — Follow up personally to invite them to give, connect, and answer questions.
   
   

2. Snail-mail something. It can be an "I'm thankful for you" card around Thanksgiving, your year-end appeal letter, a prayer magnet, etc. 
   1. If you'd prefer a relational primer before inviting them to give, send the snail-mail first during the week before Thanksgiving. 
3. Personally follow-up with a call/ text.  
4. Send an electronic reminder on Giving Tuesday. This could be a simple text, an emailed copy of your year-end appeal, a Merry Christmas gif, a text asking how you can pray for them in the coming year, etc. 
5. Around December 15th - follow-up
6. Around December 25th - Merry Christmas message
7. Around December 30th - follow-up

This aligns most with the philosophy of the End of Year Appeal; that this appeal speaks to a different type of donor than your monthly one. It attracts irregular givers, those who only give when asked and those who tend to be higher capacity and customarily give at year end. 

Elements: *Pick what you want. Arrange in any order you wish.

• 1:1 invitation to give (phone, video call, in person, etc). Aim to do this the week before Thanksgiving.
• card or any snail mail - no ask, just relational/ I'm thankful for you. Doesn't have to include a pic, but if it does, don't feel like it has to be perfect. Selfie & move on.
• 1:1 follow up (phone or text)
• mass letter "spaghetti against the wall" - sometimes will produce new irregular givers with whom you can engage later.
• mass follow up
• On Giving Tuesday, follow-up on your giving invitation (personal follow-up for your 20-40)
• Around December 15th, send a second follow-up
• Around December 30th, last follow-up (personal follow-up for your 20-40)
• Bonus points
  • Magnet or small gift (key, bookmark, rock, etc)
  • an extra follow up
• If you tend to have a hard time inviting people to give at year-end because you feel like you haven’t done a good enough job of cultivation, check out Steps 1& 2 of Revisiting Cultivation

The week before Thanksgiving, send a letter to everyone; anyone who has ever given + prayer partners. See what sticks.

Include a pic in your appeal. Doesn't have to be perfect. Selfie & move on.

Follow-up:

• OnGiving Tuesday
• Around December 15th
• Around December 30th

This approach sends an appeal to everyone but engages one-on-one with a select group of 10-40. 

1. The week before Thanksgiving: Send your appeal to everyone. 
   1. Snail mail or email (anyone who has ever given + prayer partners). Include a pic. Doesn't have to be perfect. Selfie & move on. Snail mail is most effective, with a copy sent a few weeks later via email as a soft follow-up. 
   2. Consider including a ministry magnet in the mailing (for your 20-40)
2. Engage one-on-one with your select group.
   1. Phone call, Zoom or in-person. 10-40 people. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
3. Snail-mail something to your select group.
   1. It can be an "I'm thankful for you" card around Thanksgiving, your year-end appeal letter, a prayer magnet, etc. 
   2. If you'd prefer a relational primer before inviting them to give, send the snail-mail first. 
4. On Giving Tuesday: mass follow-up with everyone. 
5. ~ December 15th: Personal follow-up with your select group.
   1. This could be a simple text, an emailed copy of your year-end appeal, a Merry Christmas gif, a text asking how you can pray for them in the coming year, etc. 
6. ~ December 25th - Merry Christmas message
7. ~ December 30th: Send a reminder

• Letter (can print/mail through ChalkLine)
• Magnet (landscape or portrait)
• Thanksgiving Card  

2024 printing/mailing deadlines
Orders from ChalkLine can be paid directly with your Reliant Fund Number. ChalkLine can also drop-ship printed pieces directly to your recipients.

• Download addresses for all your donors direct from Toolbox: MTD Reporting: Donors: Filter (All, Active, etc. You choose): Tasks: Download CSV 
• Prayer partners who have never given should be on your prayer letter list. It's ok if you only have email addresses. Just email them. If you have phone numbers, consider texting a heads up, emailing the appeal, then texting a follow-up for a select few people. 

• 1:1 Invitation to Give 
• Follow-up Phone Call/ Voicemail
• Follow-up Email
• Follow-up Text

• On Giving Tuesday, personally follow-up on your giving invitation 
• Around December 15th, send a second follow-up
• Around December 25th, Consider a "Merry Christmas" message (no mention of support)
• Around December 30th, last follow-up

• Follow-up Phone Call/ Voicemail
• Follow-up Email
• Follow-up Text