10 Ways to Inspire Church Generosity on Giving Tuesday

Across the United States, Giving Tuesday will be celebrated on December 3, 2019. 

The day kicks off the giving season, offering a counterbalance to the materialism of Black Friday shopping. 

Although Giving Tuesday focuses on donations to nonprofit organizations, this year’s event also gives churches a huge opportunity to encourage support for missions and engage people in service work. 

Here are 10 ways to include your church in this year’s Giving Tuesday.

2. Make sure people know you’re participating. Feature Giving Tuesday messaging and logos on your home page or in your weekly bulletin, and include calls to action that prompt people to give online or through their mobile device.

2. Share what you’re doing on social media using the hashtag #GivingTuesday.  Broadcast instructions and encouragement on your church’s Faithlife group, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Make the posts highly visual and full of personal stories, and invite people to “please share this post.”

3. Organize a community-wide event on Giving Tuesday to unite your congregation and engage them in giving or volunteering. Create a holiday wish list for people in need, and organize your congregation to fulfill the wishes. 

4. Collaborate! Plan an event with another house of worship in your community and learn how people of faith approach giving during the holiday season.

5. Enroll leadership at the highest levels. Ask your pastor to preach a giving-oriented message on Sunday, November 30. An especially brave church leader might volunteer for a dunk tank if a certain level of giving is reached. Nothing encourages generosity like seeing it in action. Maybe the pastor could make the first donation up front during a worship service or live on social media—or announce it in an email newsletter.

6. Create an incentive for people to participate. Secure a matching grant that will double the impact of your congregation’s Giving Tuesday efforts.

7. Use Giving Tuesday to kick off a longer holiday celebration that involves your community in service and giving opportunities in December.

8. Share stories of generosity. Examples of godly giving and generous living are inspirational to people inside and outside the church. Create a video and share how giving has impacted people’s lives.

9. Ask people in your church to take an “unselfie” on Giving Tuesday and share it on social media, along with their plan for unleashing generosity in the year ahead. When you share your “unselfie” on social media, remember to tell others how they can give.

10. Set a goal for your church. Since Giving Tuesday happens outside typical worship times, tell people how they can give online or from their phone. 

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Faithlife Giving makes online giving simple and fast, since people can give anytime from any device, whether or not they have a Faithlife login.

Get started with Faithlife Giving just in time for the biggest season of giving. Once your onboarding form gets approved (typically takes a few seconds), you can start receiving gifts immediately.

This post was originally published in the Fall 2018 edition of Ministry Team magazine.

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