• 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. 
• 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

Make it known. 

If your account balance is healthy, you may be wondering if you should still do an end of year appeal. Ellis Goldstein, MTD Specialist at CRU, advises, “You build in times of strength to help in the lean times.” Think of the wisdom of Joseph in keeping storehouses of grain in preparation for the years of famine. Consider a goal of raising $10,000 in this end of year appeal. 

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:

• Irregular givers
• Those who usually give only when asked
• Higher capacity donors
• Those who tend to give at year-end

This type of appeal is usually not for: 

• Those who have received an increase ask or special gift ask from you within the last 6-9 months
• Those who have joined your team in the last 6-9 months

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 prayer letter list. 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. 

Pick 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. Plan to personally invite them to give. Phone call, Zoom or in-person. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
2. Snail-mail your year-end appeal letter. 
   1. Download addresses for all your donors direct from Toolbox: MTD Reporting: Donors: Filter (All, Active, etc. You choose): Tasks: Download CSV 
   2. Prayer partners who have never given should be on your prayer letter list. 
3. Personally follow-up with a 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:

• Option 1: One-on-one ask, then send Thanksgiving card = good if you want to get ahead of the pack
• Option 2: 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/ 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 which you can engage later.
• mass follow up
• after-xmas reminder
• 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.

Send a letter to everyone; anyone who has ever given + prayer partners. See what sticks.

• 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. 

Send an after-xmas reminder as a follow-up.

This approach sends a letter to everyone, but engages one-on-one with a select group. 

• Send an appeal letter 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.
  • 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. 
• Then pick 20-40 to engage one-on-one. 
• Consider including a ministry magnet in the mailing (for your 20-40).
• Follow up with your 20-40. 
• Send an after-xmas reminder as a follow-up (for all or some).