The benefit of producing giving statements

The deadline for self-assessment tax will be lingering on the minds of many people come January, and for those that made donations to church in the past year, receipt of this will be required when completing their tax returns. For churches this is often a busy time as they prepare financial giving statements for individuals that require this. 

Although this is usually only required by those who are self-employed or responsible for their own tax returns, it is good practice for churches to send out giving statements to those who provide repeated financial donations. Giving statements keep donors informed of their own giving and it is also provides them with acknowledgement from the church that their money is being received. 

This often encourages further generosity as it can showcase how contribution money is being used to benefit and support the greater mission, creating a sense of involvement and fulfilment. It is the ideal way to say thank you and to keep church members informed of how their contributions are making a difference.

To further immerse people into the greater mission of your church, and to foster a generous spirit, aim to keep regular communication with your givers. Determine a regular pattern for your church to communicate its position with those who are providing financial support; this may be annually, bi-annually or quarterly, as long it is consistent. 

Doing this can keep people involved in what the church is doing, creating a stronger community spirit and keeping up motivation to live the Christian life. When sending out giving statements, you could also consider including:

A letter from the church pastor with an official statement to say thank you for the donation and a summary of how the money has been used. This is a great opportunity to highlight any moments over the past year where the church’s financial support has made a significant impact.

The future vision of the church and of what God is doing, this will remind donors of the wider goal for their community. Informing people of the financial goals of the church can often encourage generosity; when a need is acknowledged, people will usually want to know how they can get involved to fulfil it.

An image that communicates your vision, or showcases a certain project that your church has been involved in; if you have a testimonial then you could include it along with the picture. This will help your givers to see the physical reward of their gifts.

A comparison to the overall church giving from the previous year to provide an understanding about the financial health of the church.

By including some of the above, rather than producing a purely statistical piece of information, you can help your givers to connect the dots and help them feel excited about how they have helped the church to grow and be of benefit to others.

When people are giving their money to the church, keeping them involved in how it is being used is something that givers will appreciate, and seeing how their contribution is having an effect will provide an incentive for them to increase giving when they are able to. 

If your church uses iKnow Church, creating giving statements can be done quickly and easily, whether it be for an individual giver or a batch of giving statements for your entire list of givers. Tutorials on how to do this can be found in the help section of iKnow Church, or you can speak to a member of the team on 0121 651 11 25.