No time to write an end of year appeal? We made a bunch of templates so you can plug & play. 



Seek the Lord

  • Put my heart in the right place when it comes to this appeal. What do I need to surrender to You? 
  • 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? 



Determine an amount

Take your monthly shortfall (support goal - promises) x 15 + backpay  OR  $10,000; whichever you feel better about setting as your goal.


Gather your names

  • Search toolbox for one-time givers who gave $500< in a single gift in the last 3 yrs. 
  • How to find special gift history with Toolbox. Can you approve/ publish that page? 
  • if you have supporters who gave multiple times in 3 yrs, just count them 1x
  • lets say all those ppl give what they gave last time. How much does that add up to? Is that close to meeting your year-end ask amount? If not, change your search parameters. 
  • Reminder: For this, you want to appeal to a different type of giver than your regular monthly donor. Those you want to invite to give at year-end include: irregular givers, those who only give when asked, higher capacity donors, those who tend to give at year-end. 



Choose your method


pick 20-40 to engage one-on-one. Plan to personally invite them to give. Phone call, Zoom or in-person. 

Personal Follow-up call/ text. 

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. 

The process:

  • 1:1 Ask, then send Thanksgiving card = good if you want to get ahead of the pack
  • Thanksgiving card then 1:1 ask = good if you want a relational primer before inviting them to give. 
  • Elements: *arrange in any order you wish
    • 1:1 invitation to give (phone, video call, in person, etc)
    • card - no ask, just relational/ im thankful for you. Doesnt have to include a pic, but if it does, dont 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 which you can engage later
    • mass follow up
    • after-xmas reminder
    • Bonus points
      • Magnet or small gift (key, bookmark, bracelet, etc
      • an extra follow up


Throw it at everyone; anyone who has ever given + prayer partners. See what sticks. 


EOY Letter Template

  • Send to your entire team (anyone who has ever given + prayer partners). Snail mail is most effective, with a copy sent a few weeks later via email as a soft follow-up.
  • Then pick 20-40 to engage one-on-one. 
  • Consider including a ministry magnet in the mailing (for your 20-40 or all).



Build your materials

Templates: 

Letter *Does this need to be a template on ChalkLine? If so, do I work with Amber on that?

magnet  *Waiting for template to upload in Reliant's store so I can link here

Thanksgiving Card  *Do we care about a Reliant-branded one or can we use these? Also, do we want to do an EOYA Bundle with all 3 of these? 

1:1 Invitation to Give 

Follow-up Phone Script

Follow-up Email 

Follow-up Text

Cool new feature: Order from our ChalkLine store and pay with your Reliant Fund Number! ChalkLine can even mail printed pieces for you directly to your supporters. 


Enter the contest! 

Send a copy of your end of year appeal to MTD@Reliant.org be entered into a drawing for a fabulous prize.


Track your giving

Now: Take a snapshot of your current giving so you can see who gave or increased in the coming months. Keva, take Jesse's tutorial and make it a Solomon page, then link here. 

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

And thank donors accordingly. 

Prompts

Cards, Postcards



Sample Timelines - EOYA