This week’s tip: Be upfront and upbeat in your asks for money

• Be upfront about your requests for money. Don’t hide them behind spiritual lingo. People tend to respond more positively if we are straightforward and unashamed to talk about the bottom line.

• Don’t talk about Time, Talent, and Treasure. Unless you are prepared to give Time and Talent equal time and energy, people will tend to view it as a smoke screen, see right through it, and become more reticent to give.

• Develop a sense of humor and don’t be so somber about stewardship. You don’t have to be somber to be serious. The more somber you are in your giving the more reticent people become about giving. One year, “we modeled our giving campaign on how National Public Radio conducts theirs, telling them we would shorten the sermon by two minutes every week we met our Giving Estimate goal”.

Read the full article on ECF Vital Practices: 10 Counterintuitive Practices that will Improve Your Stewardship (even during a pandemic) by Ken Howard

Subscribe to ECF Vital Practices for resources, tips and tools on all your ministry questions.