Now, more than ever, in this uncertain virtual environment, it’s essential that we understand and assess how our ministries are funded. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “what gets measured, gets managed,” and at MortarStone, we’re all about analyzing your giving so that you can make wise decisions and crucial connections with givers. We’ve put together three goals that you can use to determine if your church’s giving is on track and the steps you can take to ensure future funding.
#1 TRACK: New Giver Retention
GOAL: Benchmark Current Retention and Goal Set to Increase by 10% Over the Next Year
Measuring your New Giver retention is a great way to evaluate how well you connect people with your church’s mission and vision. If you have more new givers walking out the back door than staying, you could potentially need to improve your assimilation process.
To measure your New Giver retention take the following steps.
If you’re using MortarStone, you can quickly check out your New Giver Acquired Giving chart. This chart will show you a month-over-month comparison of how many new givers have kept giving to your church. Looking at your retention level, try to increase that amount by 10% over the next year. We’ve found that healthy churches have a New Giver Retention of approximately 65%.
If you’re not using MortarStone, take these steps to calculate retention.
a. From the current month, look back one year in your giving database at the amount of New Givers you have had.
b. Export this list and compare it to your current givers. How many are still giving, how many have lapsed.
c. Benchmark your current retention level and try to set a goal to increase this retention by 10% over the next year.
Here’s an example of how increasing your retention by only 10% can change your church giving.
Total Giving Of New Givers = $100,000
Current Retention of New Givers = 55%
Total Retained Giving Over 1 Year = $55,000
New Retention Goal = 65% (10% increase)
Total Retained Giving Increase = $65,000
Total Retained Giving Over 1 Year = $10,000
Learn strategies for increasing your New Giver retention, schedule a time to talk with us.
#2 TRACK: Lapsed Giver Churn
GOAL: Benchmark Current Churn and Goal Set to Decrease by 25% Over the Next Year
Stats show that a giver will leave your church forever approximately 90 days after they’ve stopped giving. Improving your lapsed giver churn can significantly increase your funding and allows you to continue engaging and discipling these people.
If you’re using MortarStone, check out your Core Givers tab and click on the Household Churn Rate Report. You’ll see your current churn rate and the number of givers you’ve lost each month. We’ve found that healthy churches have an overall churn rate under 2%.
If you’re not using MortarStone, follow these steps:
a. Look back one year at your givers (monthly, weekly, quarterly) compare those givers with your current givers.
b. Benchmark your current retention amount and goal set to decrease this rate by 25% over the next year.
Here’s an example of how decreasing your churn by only 25% can change your church giving over the next year.
Current Lapsed Giver Churn = 2.5%
Current Giving Churn Rate = 4.2%
Current Giving Lost = $152,000
25% Reduction in Churn
New Churn Rate: 2%
New Giving Churn Rate = $120,000
Improvement = $30,000
Learn more about decreasing your giver churn, schedule a time to talk with us.
#3 TRACK: Core Giver Retention
GOAL: Benchmark Current Core Giver Retention and Goal Set to Increase by 10% Over the Next Year
Core or ‘regular’ givers are the backbone of your ministry. They typically represent 65% of your total annual giving and make up the vast majority of your volunteers and leadership. Without this committed core, most churches would shrink by 50%.
MortarStone users can quickly assess Core giver retention by looking at the Core Givers Retention Report. We’ve found that healthy churches have a retention level of 70% or more per year.
If you’re not using MortarStone, follow these steps.
a. Export a list of your current regular monthly givers.
b. Then pull a list of givers from 1 year ago.
c. Compare the records to see which givers you have retained.
d. Calculate your retention percentages based on those givers that are still giving one year later.
Here’s an example of how increasing your Core Giver retention by only 10% can change your church giving over the next year.
Current Total Giving of Core Givers = $2,000,000
Current Total Giving Percentage of Total Givers = 60%
New Core Giver Goal Retention Goal of 70%
New Core Giving Increase = $327,500 per year
Learn how to keep your Core Givers, giving – schedule a time to talk with us.
Measuring these three giving areas will help you benchmark and set goals for increasing your discipleship opportunities. Remember, what gets measured, gets managed – take time to evaluate your current giving and help fully-fund your church ministries today and for the future.