Get Ready for the End of the Year Roundup

Are you ambushed every December by end-of-year tasks? I corralled some different ideas that might help. Of course, starting now spreads the workload out for you before December hits. (At the end of the post, I repeat these ideas in a by-month layout.)

September is not too soon to get started on many MPD tasks you might do at the end of the year. This post has a variety of ideas for you to choose from. You know what will work best for you.

Are Gifts Missing?

September is a good time to check on missing donations. (In general, unless someone is an annual donor, I would not use a fund appeal to ask for another donation.) Follow up on these partners.

If you haven’t checked Cru’s Online Reminder System, take 20 minutes to see when Cru sent reminder letters. Sort on “Last Reminder” to do this easily. Wait before contacting anyone who’s been reminded recently.

Is Your Give Site Up-to-date?

For Cru Staff, take 15 minutes to make sure your give.cru.org site is accurate. If you need more help, read my post: Important Changes to Your Cru Give Site.

How Often Do Your Financial Ministry Partners Hear from You?

Thank You’s

Once I realized some of our monthly donors only received thank you’s when they responded to a fund appeal. Now I make sure I thank them for their faithfulness. If any of your regular donors haven’t received a thank you since last year’s EOYA, thank them for their faithful giving.

Greetings

Hand-written

If you write personal greetings in your Christmas cards or in your EOYA, why not make inserts?

• Make your insert.
  • Pick a nice family or ministry photo.  I would also include Cru’s logo and/or a Bible verse or something.
  • Leave room at the bottom for your handwritten note.
• Print these up  (2, 3, or 4 to a sheet).
• Print your envelopes for mailing your ask.
• Start writing your notes on the inserts and put them in the envelopes for your friends. Have all the notes written out before you print and stuff your EOYA letter in November.

(I prefer to write personal greetings all year. If you want to check on that option, read: Do You Have a Communication Plan? (And Free Download).

Social and Electronic

Send social media, texts, and emails, if you’d like to connect over the next few months before sending out an EOYA. Take a bit of time to say, “Howdy, Partner.”

According to Campaign Monitor, text messages have almost a 98% open rate. Also, most people respond within 90 seconds. Why not try some text messages the next few months to start conversations?

Use special days to connect with your team. Look for days to send an electronic greeting. For instance, Grandparents Day is coming up. I’m going to ask for photos and prayer requests.

Shipping Dates

I hate to break the news, but shippers add surcharges around the holidays. This is the third year for holiday surcharges.

• Amazon – third-party sellers will have a peak season fee October 15 – January 14.
• FedEx – September 5, 2022 and into January
• UPS – announced on August 14. . . peak demand surcharges in effect until further notice
• USPS –  October 2, 2022 through January 22, 20223

I’ve been re-thinking my gift-giving for a different time of the year. What are you going to do?

PICK ONE

Because mail is slower now, aim to mail your End-of-the-Year Ask (EOYA) before Thanksgiving. And then, enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, trusting the Lord to provide.

Pick one thing to work on or one thing to do for each of the next few months. Pull out your lasso and let’s get started. (Gather a posse and do this together.)

The End of the Year Roundup (Corralled by Month)

September

Catch up with all thank you’s.

Write thank you’s to your faithful donors who’ve only received thank you’s for fund appeal gifts.

Contact partners with missing donations.

Create and start writing inserts to enclose in your EOYA or Christmas card.

Be aware of opportunities to call, text, email, or write your partners..

• September 26, 2002 – National Family Day
• September 19 – International Talk Like a Pirate Day (If you’re feeling up for some humor)

October

Make sure your Give site is current.

• Keep the text as short as possible. The more someone scrolls, the more likely they will stop reading.
• Use a good headshot for your main photo. See Important Changes to Your Cru Give Site for more details on this.

Order Christmas stamps from USPS.com.

Be aware of opportunities to call, text, email, or write your partners..

• October 9, 2002 – Pastor Appreciation Day

November

This is your month for deciding on names, writing your EOYA letter, and creating a response slip.

Be aware of opportunities to call, text, email, or write your partners..

• November 11 – Veterans’ Day
• November  19, 2022 – National Adoption Day
• November 24, 2022 – Thanksgiving

Send your printed EOYA before Thanksgiving.

Send your email ask on Giving Tuesday.

December

Enjoy the holidays and keep up with your thank you notes and with sending gifts in to Donation Services.

Use gentle reminders for your EOYA:

• Address and send Christmas cards.
• Send a New Year’s email on December 29th.

P.S. Next Year

Make a plan so faithful partners receive thank you’s for their regular donations.

Start using Cru’s Online Reminder System.

Keep up with connections on:

• MLK Day
• Valentine’s
• Easter
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Grandparents’ Day in September

Congratulations! You’ve earned the title of “Bronco Buster!”

I hope one or more of these ideas help you spread the work out and give you opportunities to connect with your ministry partners.

NOTES:

• Do you know about Cru’s Text-to-Give service? Read Text-to-Give in Time for EOYA.
• I do some fund appeals over email. I share my thoughts on this post.
• “MPD” is Ministry Partner Development.
• Photo by Andre Ouellet on Unsplash