Every year, your church runs an end-of-year giving campaign. 

(If you don’t do this, you probably should. Check out this free e-book to get started on an end-of-year campaign). 

A year-end campaign allows you to cover unexpected expenses, meet your budget goals and even plan new initiatives for the new year. 

It can also be a benefit to donors looking for additional tax write-offs before the end of the year. 

What is an End-of-Year Campaign?

Your end-of-year campaign is essentially a concentrated giving push that runs from November through the month of December. Asking for generous year-end donations involves giving your church members a vision for generosity, providing them with an easy way to give, and communicating across multiple channels–including your website and social media accounts. 

But your end-of-year campaign doesn’t end on December 31st. 

When your timeline for giving ends, you’ll want to follow up with donors after they’ve made generous contributions. 

In other words, you’ll want to say THANK YOU! 

In the following article, we’ll take a look at three different ways to say thank you after your year-end campaign ends. We’ll also provide you with two easy, customizable templates you can use to write a thoughtful and effective thank you letter, email, or text message. 

Why Say Thank You?

Saying “thank you” to your donors isn’t just about being polite. 

There are benefits of a thoughtful and strategic thank you letter (or email) that go far beyond a momentary gesture of kindness. 

Here’s why it’s a good idea to say thank you:

• Demonstrates gratitude. The heart of generosity is gratitude. People often give because they’re thankful–first, thankful to God, but also thankful to your church. 
• Creates connection. Any touchpoint with your church members is a win. A thank you letter creates a point of connection that can make your members feel seen and valued. 
• Boosts long-term giving. A thank you letter can help turn one-time or occasional givers into consistent donors, especially when you direct them to recurring giving (see example below).
• Shows impact. Saying thank you is an opportunity to tell donors how their financial contributions have made a real difference.

Ultimately, saying thank you to your donors helps build a culture of generosity at your church. 

Three Ways to Say “Thank You” After Your Year-End Campaign 

When it comes to saying thank you, you have options. 

You can send a traditional letter, an email, or even a text message. 

#1: Send an email to say thank you. 

Email is the best way to say thank you to your donors. 

Email is:

• More cost-effective than traditional mail. Sending a mass email requires less labor and materials than traditional mail (no more printing or envelope stuffing!), and you don’t have to pay for postage. 
• More engaging than traditional mail. While you can always include a QR code on a paper handout, an email can send recipients directly to your homepage, giving platform, social media accounts, and more. 
• More trackable than traditional mail. Unlike traditional mail, you can view your open and response rates to email. You can even send two different versions of the same email (called A/B testing) to see what kinds of subject lines and content your recipients like the most. 

Here’s the good news: Sending beautiful emails to targeted audiences (for example, donors to an end-of-year campaign) doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. A tool like Tithe.ly Messaging can help you easily build and send custom emails to specific church members in minutes. 

To learn more about Tithe.ly Messaging, click here.

#2: Send a text message to say thank you. 

If you’d like to say thank you as quickly as possible, a text message is your best bet. 

Although you can’t be quite as expressive in a text message (you’re typically limited to 160 characters), text messages do have better open rates than email. In fact, 98% of text messages are opened!

You can send a text message on its own, or as a follow up to an email or donation. Again, Tithe.ly Messaging makes it simple and cost-effective to send targeted messages to your church members. Learn more about sending texts with Tithe.ly Messaging here. 

#3: Send a letter to say thank you. 

Finally, you can send a good old-fashioned letter to say thank you to your end-of-year donors. 

This may be a great option for you if you have an older demographic of guests who are more likely to read (and appreciate) mail. 

The benefit of a paper letter is that you can hand-sign it and include a glossy photo of your church or even a special gift. 

Two Templates for Saying “Thank You” After Your Year-End Campaign

Crafting a thank you letter is harder than it sounds. 

You need to get to the point quickly and be clear and succinct–but you still need to be warm and thoughtful!

It’s a difficult balance to strike. That’s why we’ve provided you with two templates to help you get started on a successful “thank you” to your year-end givers. 

Email or Letter

Dear [first name/last name], 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season with your friends and family!

I’m writing to you today to thank you for your generous gift to our special end-of-year campaign. 

Please know that your gift will go a long way in helping to support our church. You play such an important role as a partner in the Kingdom of God!

Here are just a few ways that we’re using funds from the year-end campaign:

• Paying necessary and basic operational expenses for our church. Without partnership from donors like you, we wouldn’t be able to meet together, worship, and share Jesus with the community. Rent, staff salaries, utilities, and repairs are just a few of the basic expenses required to keep our church alive. 
• Contributing to various ministries, such as our kid’s ministry, homeless outreach ministry, and addiction recovery program. Your financial support helps us purchase much-needed supplies and equipment to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus. 
• Saving for future initiatives, such as our new building fund. When you contribute to [church name], you invest in the future church. 

Thank you again for your generous support of [church name]. 

Blessings, 

Lead Pastor Name and Signature

P.S. The best way to continue partnering with us financially is through recurring giving. Please visit [URL of church giving platform] to learn more about how you can partner with us on a regular basis. 

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Text Message

Hi [first name!] THANK YOU for your generous gift to our year-end campaign. We appreciate you! To give regularly to [church name], go to [shortlink to church giving platform]. 

Build a Year-End Campaign with Tithe.ly

Tithe.ly offers you the tools and resources you need to run a successful end-of-year campaign. 

With a platform for easy online giving, tools for running a special pledge campaign, email and text messaging tools, and more, we’ve got the technology you need.

Here are some additional resources on running an effective giving campaign throughout the end of the year:

• Year-End Giving Playbook: 9 Ready-to-Use Templates (free ebook from Tithe.ly!)
• 7 Steps to an End-of-Year Giving Campaign That Really Works
• 8 End-of-Year Giving Campaign Ideas
• End of Year Giving: 6 Must-Know Stats
• 10 Ways to Maximize Your Year-End Offering
• Announcing Tithe.ly Giving Statements: An Updated Feature to Tackle Year-End Giving
• Year-End Giving: 6 Ways You Can Increase End of Year Giving
• 4 Helpful Insights Our Year-End Church Giving Survey Provided

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