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Prayer for the World during the Outbreak of the Coronavirus

Icon of Jesus the Healer

Lord Jesus Christ, you travelled through towns and villages curing every disease and illness. At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of this pandemic, that we may experience your healing love.

Through the prayers of all the saints and especially those of Your mother, Mary, may we minister without fear to those in need and build up Your Church.

May we do this, Lord, not relying on our strength, but Yours.

We ask this in Your holy name, amen.

(Adapted from the London Oratory)

Icon of Jesus the Healer

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Today’s Presentation

Nic Prenger, J.DPrenger Solutions Group

A Rescue Plan for Your

Parish Offertory

• Timeline of what to expect• How and when to start fundraising• Parish fundraising: What works and what doesn’t• Free resources for CSM subscribers• Q&A / Discussion• Adjourn

(then we send you the links/resources this afternoon)

AGENDA

“The Bump”PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3

“The Slump” “The Surge”The New Normal

Mid March – Easter Easter – September September – December 2021 and beyond

Credit: Jeff Brooks Fundraising

Global pandemicPublic Masses cancelled

Economy stops

???

A spike in emergency giving that peaks at Easter, then a rapid

drop

4-6 months of lower-than-normal giving and budget shortfalls

Giving recovers and erases the shortfall, led by major donors

and year-end giving

Higher sustained giving than before the crisis IF the parish

is effective in phases 1-3

Giving will be much lower at parishes that don’t increase

communication and outreach

Parishes that acted quickly & followed

best practices

Limited recovery if the parish hasn’t done well in previous

phases

Parishes that did nothing

…though parishes with lots of online donors

will see less of a slump

The “slump” will more than erase gains from the previous “bump” in giving

Baseline parish giving

Year-end giving

Two kinds of parishes

Parishes who can wait and fundraise in the Fall

Parishes who can’t wait and need to fundraise now

“The Bump”PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3

“The Slump” “The Surge”The New Normal

Mid March – Easter Easter – September September – December 2021 and beyond

???

A spike in emergency giving that peaks at Easter, then a rapid

drop

4-6 months of lower-than-normal giving and budget shortfalls

Giving recovers and erases the shortfall, led by major donors

and year-end giving

Higher sustained giving than before the crisis IF the parish

is effective in phases 1-3

Giving will be much lower at parishes that don’t increase

communication and outreach

Parishes that acted quickly & followed

best practices

Limited recovery if the parish hasn’t done well in previous

phases

Parishes that did nothing

Baseline parish giving

Year-end givingGlobal pandemicPublic Masses cancelled

Economy stops

“The Bump”PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3

“The Slump” “The Surge”The New Normal

Mid March – Easter Easter – September September – December 2021 and beyond

???

A spike in emergency giving that peaks at Easter, then a rapid

drop

4-6 months of lower-than-normal giving and budget shortfalls

Giving recovers and erases the shortfall, led by major donors

and year-end giving

Higher sustained giving than before the crisis IF the parish

is effective in phases 1-3

Giving will be much lower at parishes that don’t increase

communication and outreach

Parishes that acted quickly & followed

best practices

Limited recovery if the parish hasn’t done well in previous

phases

Parishes that did nothing

Baseline parish giving

Year-end givingGlobal pandemicPublic Masses cancelled

Economy stops

If you can, use this time to: • Over communicate• Minister to those in need• Rebuild community • Thank your supporters • Build donor relationships

PHASE 2 PHASE 3“The Slump” “The Surge”

The New Normal

Mid March – Easter Easter – September September – December 2021 and beyond

???

4-6 months of lower-than-normal giving and budget shortfalls

Giving recovers and erases the shortfall, led by major donors

and year-end giving

Higher sustained giving than before the crisis IF the parish

is effective in phases 1-3

Giving will be much lower at parishes that don’t increase

communication and outreach

Limited recovery if the parish hasn’t done well in previous

phases

Baseline parish giving

Year-end giving

If you have to fundraise:• Focus on top donors• Personalize everything• Gifts ≠ accounts receivable• Tell a story

PHASE 2 PHASE 3“The Slump” “The Surge”

The New Normal

Easter – September September – December 2021 and beyond

???

6 months of lower-than-normal giving and budget shortfalls

Giving recovers and erases the shortfall, led by major donors

and year-end giving

Higher sustained giving than before the crisis IF the parish

is effective in phases 1-3

Giving will be much lower at parishes that don’t increase

communication and outreach

Limited recovery if the parish hasn’t done well in previous

phases

Baseline parish giving

Year-end giving

PHASE 2 PHASE 3“The Slump” “The Surge”

The New Normal

Easter – September September – December 2021 and beyond

???

6 months of lower-than-normal giving and budget shortfalls

Giving recovers and erases the shortfall, led by major donors

and year-end giving

Higher sustained giving than before the crisis IF the parish

is effective in phases 1-3

Giving will be much lower at parishes that don’t increase

communication and outreach

Limited recovery if the parish hasn’t done well in previous

phases

Baseline parish giving

Year-end giving

Lean into the “surge” this Fall• Capitalize on the goodwill

you built over the summer • Appeal to major donors • Show passion and urgency• Focus on year-end giving

Follow best practices

What doesn’t work

“I notice that you haven’t donated before…”

“As a Catholic, it’s your duty to give…”

“If every parishioner would just give $73 dollars…”

Silence Silence Silence SilenceSilenceSilenceWILL YOU GIVE US MONEY?Silence SilenceSilenceSilence

Silence SilenceSilenceSilence Silence Silence

SilenceSilence Silence Silence

Silence SilenceSilenceSilence Silence Silence

SilenceSilence Silence Silence

Silence SilenceSilenceSilence Silence SilenceSilenceSilence Silence SilenceSilence

Silence How about now?SilenceSilence Silence SilenceSilenceSilence Silence SilenceSilence

Silence

SilenceSilenceSilence Silence SilenceSilenceSilence Silence Silence

What actually works

Tell a story

Once upon a time ___________________________

Every day, _________________________________

Then one day _______________________________

And because of that __________________________

Until finally, ________________________________

A parishioner just like you made a donation!

Before reading your fundraising letter

After reading your fundraising letter

Shift your focus

Your appeal is NOT about how wonderful the parish is

Your appeal IS about how wonderful the donor is

Your appeal is NOT about how wonderful the parish is

Your appeal IS about how wonderful the donor is

It’s not about

It’s about

What do your donors want from you???

1. They want to belong.2. They want to see their values in action3. They want to win!4. They want to feel good.5. They want to feel loved.6. They want to feel smart.7. They want to feel needed.8. They want to feel appreciated.

Write for “head nods”

Write a letter that makes your reader nod his/her head

Personalize your appeal

How can you segment your parish appeal?

1. Major donors and your best givers 2. Those who “stepped up” during Coronavirus 3. Elderly donors (magic age of 70.5)4. Parents with school-aged children5. Long-time parishioners, new parishioners 6. Ministry heads and volunteers7. Online givers8. Weekly/monthly/annual givers

Your givers are your givers

Ugly = effective

So ugly it is doomed to succeed • It’s cheesy and informal• Too much underlining• Too many bold words• Indents look weird• Font is too big• Times New Roman? • It’s way, way too long

And then there’s that lame “PS” at the end…

Don’t forget to ASK

Fundraising appeal checklist

❑ Is the letter a conversation or a brochure or sermon?❑ Is the opening sentence less than 10 words?❑ Is it personalized (lots of “you” and “I”)?

As a long-time parishioner… As parents raising young children…Did you know you are one of our most generous donors…?

❑ Is it long, with size 13+ serif font and lots of indents?❑ Does it connect? Will the reader nod his/her head?❑ Is the donor the hero? ❑ Is there urgency?

Checklist for your parish fundraising letter

Credit: Tom Ahern

What you should do and when

“The Bump”PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3

“The Slump” “The Surge”The New Normal

Mid March – Easter Easter – September September – December 2021 and beyond

Credit: Jeff Brooks Fundraising

???

A spike in emergency giving that peaks at Easter, then a rapid

drop

4-6 months of lower-than-normal giving and budget shortfalls

Giving recovers and erases the shortfall, led by major donors

and year-end giving

Higher sustained giving than before the crisis IF the parish

is effective in phases 1-3

Giving will be much lower at parishes that don’t increase

communication and outreach

Limited recovery if the parish hasn’t done well in previous

phases

Baseline parish giving

Resources for your parish

• Webinar recording and slides• Offertory rescue plan

• What to do/send• When to do it

• Coronavirus social media guide• Best practices for donation pages• Social media profile frames• Sample pastor “super letter”

We’ll email you a link

So… is there any

way we can get ALL

of the materials?

• All the segmented fundraising letters and heartfelt messages

• Census plan + materials• IRA giving letters, postcards, graphics,

intention forms• All the year-end giving materials• Creative ministry, event and communication

ideas• Bulletin inserts and pulpit announcements

ALL the materials

$2,500 value

Rescue.PrengerSolutions.com

Free if you

subscribe by May 8

FREE

Rescue.PrengerSolutions.com

Download the free resources

Subscribe to CatholicSocial.Media and

get ALL the rescue materials for FREE

Purchase the entire suite of materials

for $2,500

1

2

2

or

Questions & Answers

Parish Offertory Services

Diocesan & bundled discounts available

Digital stewardship program

• Database clean-up• Email acquisition• Parish census & survey• Donor research & profiling• Grow social media following• Convert from paper to online• Increase giving in all segments

Digital stewardship program

Annual Appeal Services

Database

Processes

Annual appeal

Social media

Donation pages

Overall strategy

Development Program Review

Modernize your annual appeal

(before it’s too late)

Digital Fundraising Solutions

digital strategies ● online giving

donation pages ● data segmentation

wealth research ● email campaigns

ringless voicemail ● database clean-up

database administration ● process

improvement ● social media content

A/B testing ● program review

Nic@Prengersolutions.com402.689.5767