Developing first-time Christmas donors into dedicated recurring givers

Christmas is special for too many reasons to count. The aspect we’re focused on here, however, is a holiday dynamic your church is already familiar with: the influx of new visitors and first-time donors.

The spirit of the season always resonates within the community and leads them toward generosity. Among Pushpay customers in 2023, nearly half a million individual donations came from first-time givers during the month of December!

But that surge was often just a flash in the pan. Once 2024 rolled around, only 40% of those new givers contributed again to those same ministries—while members who use recurring giving were responsible for over one-third of their church’s annual budget.

That discrepancy represents a missed opportunity for community engagement, connection, and growth. So the question is, how can you keep those new holiday donors engaged and generous over the early months of the year, and develop them into recurring givers?

Inspiring that first gift

Christmas may be unique in its ability to spur first-time donations, but that doesn’t mean you and your staff can sit back and rely on the holiday itself to maximize those potential gifts.

Remember to reiterate the spirit of the season. Christmas is deeply associated with generosity, in the form of giving gifts to neighbors and loved ones. Sometimes, however, newcomers to your church (who may only show up to one service each year!) can forget how the tradition of kindness and generosity started with celebrating the birth of Jesus and the Church. 

Don’t be bashful about reminding the congregation of this fact. Even though they surely understand this dynamic, a gentle nudge could lead to dozens more of those all-important first gifts, and set the stage to creating new disciples.

Keep connection front of mind

You can not—and shouldn’t try to—recreate the groundswell of faith and generosity that springs forth each Christmas. Not only is it an untenable approach for your church team, but it also somewhat cheapens how significant December twenty-fifth is in your community’s heart. 

Instead, strive to maintain the connection those first-time donors felt with your church. They decided to donate over the holidays, because their heart and faith led them to contribute. Christmas might have added fuel to the fire of their generous spirit, but the fire was already there, and it wasn’t snuffed out simply because a new calendar year rolled around.

Maintaining and building connection, then, is your goal for bringing those new donors deeper into the life of your church and encouraging ongoing generosity. Follow up with each new giver with a thank-you note, of course, but ensure that message includes an invitation to a simple next step. Maybe that’s asking them to reply to your email with why they felt called to give during Christmas, directing them to a short and simple volunteer opportunity, or offer to put them in contact with a longstanding member of your congregation as a sort of mentor. 

Do whatever feels most natural to your community. The important part is to fan that small flickering flame of connection, so it could grow into a roaring fire of faith and generosity.  

Software’s role in growing disciples

Some form of church technology solutions are incorporated in virtually every modern ministry. Unfortunately, many leaders with access to features designed to foster connection and generosity underutilize the tools already at their fingertips.

Process queues are one of Pushpay ChMS’s most potent tools for tracking and developing those newly engaged, first-time givers in your community. You can follow individuals through customizable action steps along their fledgling faith journey, while also assigning roles and responsibilities to your staff to monitor which steps have been completed.

Keeping an eye on an individuals’ giving habits is also a critical piece of a successful nurture program. Donor development analytics through your ChMS should tell you the timing, amount, and regularity of a new member’s donations. Armed with this knowledge, you can better identify how to minister to different donors. 

In the instance of an initial Christmas gift, you can combine these two methods to track how engaged a first-time donor has remained after the holidays, and plan a customized process queue tailored to the approach you feel will best encourage them to stay connected to your church.

Easter’s just around the corner

If you’re reading this around Christmastime, you’re likely already thinking about all things Easter. One of your major considerations should be how to keep first-time donors involved during the various stages leading up to the big weekend.

Think about it: You have a group of people who felt called to make a first donation during the Christmas season, and there’s another major holiday just around the corner! Invoke that holiday spirit yet again to maintain connection and foster engagement among those you’re hoping to disciple. 

That said, while Easter already feels on the horizon for church staff, it likely seems distant to a community who isn’t involved in the tremendous amount of organization and planning you’ve already started. Communicate how much time, treasure, and talent is invested in your Easter program. Point out this process has already started, and suggest that, if they enjoyed the camaraderie and faith of Christmas at your church, you would appreciate their help—starting now!—to execute an amazing Easter.

Slowly build toward recurring giving

Most people automate the financial transactions that are most important in their lives. Expenses like car payments and mortgages are taken out of an individual’s bank account on a monthly basis.

Recurring giving is essentially the same concept, an automated transaction directed to the Church. You already know how convenient and significant this functionality is for your ministry—and yes, you should encourage your congregation to adopt recurring during the holidays. But many of those first-time givers will hesitate to commit right off the bat, because they’re not yet sure if they’re ready to take that significant next step. They’re not sure if regular giving to your church is truly important in their lives.

That’s why so much emphasis must be placed on fostering connection and engagement with new donors in the months after Christmas. Besides developing a wave of potential disciples, you’re laying the groundwork for creating new recurring donors, who are proven to donate significantly more than occasional givers each year. 

To help leaders like yourself reach their fundraising goals, we compiled this Recurring Giving Playbook to expand on many of the ideas above. The advice inside was provided by three of your peer churches who’ve found extraordinary success in creating a sturdy foundation of recurring givers, which they can rely on for consistent donations to fuel growth and help them achieve their mission.

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE