Did you know that December is the most important month for fundraising in most non-profit organizations? As much as 40% of everything given to charity is done during the month of December.

I know it’s November, but you need to think about December. It’s time to plan a Christmas offering and we’re going to help you.

I want to invite you to a webinar that will teach you through a step-by-step system for planning and executing a Christmas offering. I’m going to show you how you can have 53 weeks worth of income to go along with 52 weeks worth of expenses. Seriously, if you do this right, it could mean an extra weeks worth of offerings to do ministry in your community. We’ve literally coached hundreds of church through this process.

The webinar happens 15 times in November, so there’s sure to be one that works with your schedule. Sign up using this form, and we’ll send you the login information.

From time to time, people ask us, “What is Giving Rocket?”  The bottom line is that Giving Rocket exists to help YOU have more money for ministry.  We do that through offering free content (like this blog and our free reports), resources (like The Giving Talk and Automate the Important), and a core membership program.

Our message centers on ten foundational principles.  We call them Rocket Science Rules.  Here they are:

1.  Ask people for money.
2. Don’t make money boring.
3. Lead yourself first.
4. Build disciples, not donors.
5. Be intentional.
6. Help people with their personal finances.
7. Emphasize digital giving, don’t just offer it.
8. Know the numbers.
9. Follow up.
10. Someone has to wake up thinking about this.

Dive a little deeper into these rocket science rules in this free report.  And make them a part of your ministry through the core membership program.

I am about to be super transparent.  I have been in environments and churches that “SPIN” the truth and manipulate people to give the church money.  Sure, it all looks good on the surface and seems really spiritual, but at the end of the day it is about using people.  Here is the worst part; I’ve led that way before.  I was the king of finesse and crafting a message and plan that worked people into a frenzy to give money. Here are a few questions to help you know if you are SPINNING your funding efforts.

1. Do you only call your church to prayer and fasting when you are raising money?
2. Do you only meet with high capacity donors when you are raising money?
3. Have you ever put a “missions” project into a funding effort just so people will give more?
4. Do you say things like, “It’s not about bricks and mortar”, but you spend way more time planning the building than loving people specifically?
5. When teaching to get commitments do you fake cry? (Yes, I have seen this many times)
6. Do you highlight certain parts of a project that will get people to give more, but that isn’t where the majority of the money is going?

Here are a few thoughts on how to do this right:

1. Just tell the truth.  You can be honest with your people…they can handle it.  In fact, they crave it.
2. Invest in people year round.  You’ve got to develop and disciple people all year long, not just during key initiatives.
3. Don’t throw in mission projects that get people to give, but really where the money isn’t going.  That’s dishonest.
4. Just be completely honest with people.

What are your thoughts on spinning?

What if your church could have 53 weeks worth of offerings to go along with 52 weeks of expenses?  Or what if you had 13 months worth of income to match 12 months of expenses?  What ministry would you start…what mission would you fund?

You absolutely CAN see that happen in your church through planning and executing a Year End Giving initiative or a Christmas Offering. Many non-profits receive 40% or more of their annual contributions during the month of December.  People are naturally generous during the Christmas season, and if you do things right, you’ll actually engage NEW donors.

But you’ve got to be intentional, and you’ve got to execute.  Our team is releasing this free resource that will show you what to do.  Simply enter your name and email address in the form below and we will email you this resource.

You may have seen the news recently that my friend, Joe Sangl, acquired Injoy Stewardship Solutions – the company founded by Dr. John C. Maxwell.  I co-authored Funded And Free with Joe, and our ministries have intersected literally hundreds of times as we have served churches across the nation.

Joe recently told me about a report that the Injoy team was releasing called “5 Mistakes That Will Kill Your Church Fund Raising.”  Here is a brief portion of this report.

Failing To Build Trust
THE ISSUE

Lack of trust in leadership and in the church will lead to terrible giving results toward a major initiative. This lack of trust can be caused by many different issues. A church leader may have had a moral failure, money previously collected for a project was improperly spent on other items, or the leadership is too new to have developed deep trust. Trust is built over time, especially in the ministry. There must be a deep level of trust for the church to follow the leadership, especially when it relates to giving.

THE SOLUTION
“Trust is built over time, especially in the ministry. But, trust can be eroded in a moment of time, so be diligent.” How do you build trust? Follow the example of David who slayed the bear, then the lion, and finally Goliath. Scripture demonstrates that trust is built when people see church leaders make wise and timely decisions over an extended period of time. Because you have been faithful in the little things, your people will trust you with major initiatives.

Proverbs 22:1 (NIV) also shares that “A good name is more desirable than great riches.” Answer questions that are asked in a clear manner. Ensure that money given toward the major initiative is applied toward the initiative. Do not use Land & Building contributions to fund operating costs without first ensuring that the church clearly understands why this is happening.

Establish a timeline of events that establish trust. Events and projects that are vital and display to the leadership and the church as a whole that you must do what you commit to do. When there is a clear series of past events that have proven trustworthiness, it will provide maximum trust for the next major initiative.

This free report takes just minutes to read, but could literally be a catalyzing difference between a surviving or a thriving ministry.  Fill out the form below to receive the report, and you will also receive a special offer on our book, Funded And Free!

For the next 10 days, EVERY resource in our store is 50% off.

• Our Guide to Year End Giving is 50% off.  Over 100 churches used this resource last year to do a Christmas offering and ended up with an extra week’s worth of giving.
• Automate the Important, our full-blown campaign to help you EMPHASIZE automated, digital giving is 50% off.
• Thrive, a step-by-step guide to raise money for any special project is 50% off.  You’ll get ten teaching videos, sermon outlines, graphics and more.  It’s literally a done for you campaign.

And EVERY other resource we have ever released in our store.  For the next 10 days. Use the code TENDAYS to claim your discount at checkout.

Too many churches are financially strapped, which means they aren’t ready to respond when God drops an opportunity in their laps.  Here are three ways to be financially strapped, and what you can do about it:

 1.  Leave yourself no financial margin.  Too many churches operate week to week, deciding what bill to pay now and what can wait until next week.  It’s a miserable way to live because it’s reactive.

Solution:  Right now, open up a savings account and set a short term goal, which is exactly what Dave Ramsey would advise you to do in your personal financial life.

2.  Hire people in response to needs.  I’ve seen it happen over and over again:  a church grows fast and they hire people to fill ministry positions.  Over time, the growth isn’t sustainable and people are downsized or let go.

Solution:  Create a healthy leadership development program and develop volunteer leaders.  Stop talking yourself into hiring someone to do every job in the church.  Take the time to invite, equip and appreciate volunteers, and you’ll have plenty of people to do ministry.  Take the long road, not the short-term bailout.  Then, when you’re ready and able to hire people, you can hire high quality leaders.

3.  Refuse to spend money on things that help people give generously.  Setting up a simple online giving system, rolling out a giving kiosk, and printing offering envelopes all cost money.

Solution:  Pick one thing and commit to using it over a year.  For example, don’t introduce offering envelopes and wonder why they didn’t work.  Teach people how to use them and commit to use them for the long haul.  It takes time to create a culture.

Yesterday was an amazing day, as 2,500 churches came together on the Fund Your Church Now online conference. We had 45 states represented, as well as people watching from Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, Nigeria, Spain, the UK, Sweden and Canada. Here were some of the highlights:

• Pete Wilson talked about the power of relationships. “Stop treating your people or small groups like ATMs to fund your church,” he said.
• Joe Sangl reminded us of the power of repetition, saying that he’s taught the Financial Learning Experience 14 times at Newspring Church. If it’s important, we’ve gotta keep doing it.
• Tim Stevens shared a wealth of practical information, including some of the numbers they track at Granger Community Church.
• Robert Morris flat out preached a sermon on giving and tithing.
• Dino Rizzo flat out challenged us to stop praying about meeting needs and start meeting them. “I’m glad for the prayer, but we need a truck, trailer & boxes to help move this single lady,” he said.
• The words “fired up” were said at least 106 times.
• We announced the Giving Rocket Tour. It’s in-person, free and coming to 9 cities in February of 2012. If you live in Atlanta, Charlotte, DC, NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Baton Rouge, Phoenix or LA, we’d love to meet you in person.

If you missed the event, we’re going to make the videos available for about 30 days. I’ll send the links via email, so make sure you’re on the list (if you registered for the event, then you’re on the list already).  Click here to be added to the list.

Today is the day.  At 1pm EST, about a dozen of the top church leaders in North America will appear on your computer screen during a free online event called Fund Your Church Now.  Pete Wilson, Dino Rizzo, Robert Morris and others will talk about how to take your church from break even to break through.  You’re going to learn stuff.  You’re going to be challenged.

You can still sign up for this event.  It’s 100% free and I believe it will be worth your time.

Here are five things you should do today.

1. Write a thank you note to someone who has made a difference in your life.
2. Pay for someone’s drink or drive thru meal…just because.
3. Pray for a church in your town…a church that you don’t attend.
4. Deal with that email in your inbox that’s been sitting there for the last two weeks.
5. Register for the FREE Fund Your Church Now Conference…it’s happening tomorrow!