By Malcolm Freberg
Open the door for non-cash donations, and skyrocket your church’s end-of-year giving
Every church depends on end-of-year generosity to kickstart its coming year of ministry.
Research confirms that more donations arrive in December than any other month of the year — and because you already know this, chances are that you’re lining up your holiday plans and campaigns as we speak.
However, as technology continues to reshape every aspect of our lives, so must your ministry adapt to the latest technologies — specifically in terms of how to accommodate tech-savvy donors across all generations, and in turn amplify their generosity.
Virtually every church has established a method for accepting digital gifts, even if that’s as simple as text giving or through a portal on its website. And the vast majority of ministries have taken it a step further, by hosting dedicated platforms that facilitate fast and frictionless digital giving, so that those called to give can do so without hurdles. Tech solutions like mobile giving, QR codes, tap-to-give and more have been proven to increase total giving for ministries by a wide margin.
You likely already have these giving channels in place, and have trained your community how to use them, so that you can maximize giving this December. But there’s still untapped generosity you can encourage, by simply offering a straightforward method to donate assets, which leads to significantly larger gifts.
Tap into new forms of generosity
Years ago, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin made many churches nervous. Even though the concept still takes a little bit of homework to fully understand, crypto is now mainstream, and many members of your congregation have already done that homework. They will appreciate your willingness to accept this form of asset as a gift, and their crypto donation will dwarf most other gifts: Pushpay’s partner Engiven, the No. 1 donation platform for cryptocurrency, reports the average size of crypto donations at $15,000. Imagine losing out on that potential simply because your software is not set up to accept and automatically process crypto on your ministry’s behalf.
Stock donations — also available through Engiven via Pushay — also lead to exponentially higher gifts than basic cash donations, and are just as easy to process for donors and churches alike. And don’t forget: Stock and crypto are treated as assets by the IRS. This means there’s substantial tax incentives for individuals who give through these channels, which in turn nudges the size of these donations even higher.
As the end of the year approaches, you can’t afford to ignore this potential for fueling your church’s vision for 2027. And Pushpay is about to expand asset-based giving even further.
Make way for donor-advised funds
On top of crypto and stock, Pushpay is excited to announce that we’ll soon be able to process donor-advised fund (DAF) gifts. These are some of the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicles in the United States, and for good reason.
DAFs are personal funds set up by an individual or a family where they invest charitable donations in advance, which they eventually plan to distribute. The individual can then direct those funds wherever they’d like — say, your church — and receive major tax benefits in the meantime.
One more time for those in the back: December, when so much generosity is pouring out, is the perfect time to promote these asset-based gifts. They might not increase the volume of donations that come in, but they’re all but guaranteed to be the preferred vehicle for a financially conscious segment of your congregation, and the size of their gifts will jump higher thanks to the tax advantages it affords them.
Communicate early, clearly
That said, even if you put the tools in place for crypto, stock, and DAF giving — and don’t sleep on IRA contributions — no one is going to use these channels if they don’t know they’re available. Plan on educating your congregation before December. Show them how easy the process is and be prepared to answer any questions they might have about the tax benefits and their end-of-year giving statements. (Pushpay’s award-winning support team can help you navigate these conversations.) Your donors will thank you for flagging this opportunity early, so they can plan ahead for their upcoming end-of-year donation.
Your community wants to support your church. By providing new, advantageous channels for expressing generosity, you’ll meet your people where they’re at, and everyone will enjoy the benefits.
Malcolm Freberg is Content Marketing Manager at Pushpay. He’s spent the past several years developing content for non-profits on a mission, and currently lives in North Carolina.
