Guide Your Members Toward Generosity with the New Donor Development Dashboard

Every member of your congregation is on a unique journey. Some people have a deeply personal relationship with Jesus. Others are still exploring who He is and where God fits into their lives. They may have been part of your church for years, or they may have just started attending.

Whatever the situation, it’s important that you speak to them where they are and not lump them in with everyone else. You do this all the time in one-on-one ministry. But with mass communication and church marketing, it can be hard for church leaders to feel like they’re really addressing each person’s individual journey.

See the journey more clearly with the Donor Development Dashboard

With Pushpay’s Donor Development Dashboard, you gain practical, unique insights into giving at your church. You can filter your church members based on their giving habits, so you have a clear, simple breakdown of where each person is on their journey toward generosity. You can even see when someone’s giving habits have recently changed, so you’ll know if a regular giver stops financially supporting your ministry.

And since Pushpay integrates with your church management software, you can use all this data to send your members relevant, personalized messaging. For each giving stage—from first-time givers to recurring givers—Pushpay also provides actionable insights and tips for how to guide them to the next stage.

Here’s how this versatile new feature helps you guide church members toward greater generosity.

Encourage new donors to give again

When someone gives for the first time, that’s a huge step. First-time giving often happens after hearing about a specific need such as a backpack drive or a limited-time campaign. Or maybe a person just experienced an especially meaningful service or a sudden desire to be generous.

Some first-time givers may actually be ready to start giving regularly, but that’s probably not the case for most of them. They’ve just had their first taste of what it feels like to contribute to the work your church is doing. They may still be wrestling with what it looks like to be a good steward. Your goals for this group of givers should be to:

1. Highlight the impact of their gift
2. Lead them into a greater understanding of why generosity is an important part of the Christian life
3. Encourage them to give a second time

With the Donor Development Dashboard, it’s easy to find first-time givers so you can craft messaging that walks them through the basics.

Turn second-time givers into occasional givers

Someone who gives to your church once may never give again. But when people give to your church twice, that’s a strong indicator that they really believe in something you’re doing and/or care about generosity. Whether their gifts were months apart or two weeks in a row, there’s a strong possibility that these people would give more often if you talk to them about it in the right ways.

It’s also important to think about what this stage communicates in regard to people’s connection to your church. They’re likely in the process of trying to be more involved and more committed to their faith and your community. That’s why at this stage, you may especially want to talk to them about things like small groups, classes you provide, and other broadly appealing programs your church offers. 

You should still talk to second-time givers about the impact of their gift and the value of generosity. But if you want them to continue giving over the months and years to come, you should help them find other ways to continue being involved and become more involved.

Motivate occasional givers to give regularly

There are lots of reasons people may occasionally give to your church. Perhaps they wait for you to tell them about specific needs. Or they only give during specific services (like Christmas and Easter). Or when they happen to have a financial surplus at the end of the month. Occasional givers may feel like they’re doing their part by giving now and then. They might also feel that “regular giving” is just about keeping the lights on, and they want to make sure their gifts have an impact.

Occasional givers are invested in your mission and more connected to your church. But clearly there are still education gaps you need to fill about the spiritual discipline of generosity and what your church does through their gifts. By talking about generosity and how it supports your ministries, you can both affirm the giving they’ve already done and inspire them to give more often. You could even talk to them about the simplicity of recurring giving!

Show regular givers a better way to give

Regular givers are the financial backbone of your church. You depend on their continued generosity. And you don’t have to convince them why generosity matters. But you can still show them an easier way to continue giving. With recurring giving, they can simply set the amount and the date they’d like to give (such as the day they pay their bills or when their paycheck gets deposited), and then it all happens automatically. 

The benefit to your regular givers is that they don’t have to remember anything, they save even more time, and they can donate to your church the same way they already pay their bills. The benefit to you is that recurring givers give more annually, and it helps make your overall giving a little more consistent.

The right next step for every member

The people who financially support your church are individuals. They have unique circumstances, finances, and beliefs. The Donor Development Dashboard groups your members together based on where they are in their journey with generosity so you can treat them more like individuals—instead of addressing them like a crowd.