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Most churches don't have a December giving problem. They have a planning problem that shows up in December.
Nearly one-third of annual giving arrives in the last few weeks of the year, carried along by Advent, Christmas Eve crowds, and end-of-year tax deadlines. Yet plenty of congregations still treat the season as a couple of bulletin inserts and a hopeful glance at the offering plate. Charge conference is probably behind you, the 2027 budget is on paper, and someone on the finance committee has already asked how the church plans to close out the year (doesn't someone always ask?). As of now, you have about 11 weeks to give them a real answer.
Open your books first
Before anyone drafts an appeal letter to boost end-of-year giving, spend an hour with your giving data. Who gave for the first time this year? Who gave faithfully in 2025 and then went quiet around June? How many households give on a recurring basis, and is that number growing or shrinking?
Those answers shape how you communicate to your community. A first-time giver will be inspired by a story about their impact. A lapsed giver might need a thank-you for their commitment before the next ask, and recurring givers want to believe that their steady support has built a strong foundation for the ministry they so strongly believe in.
While you're in your spreadsheets, also take time to clean up your funds. If your year-end appeal is buried in a dropdown of 23 options, fix that now. And confirm your data is in a place where your finance team can produce accurate giving statements by January 31, because doing that cleanup is far less stressful in October than it will be in the second week of January.
Give your goal a face
Asking your congregation to help you "close the budget gap" rarely inspires anyone to give. But asking them to "raise $40,000 so the food pantry can open on Saturdays" is far more likely to spark a flame.
Always name what your congregation's contributions make possible, then report progress toward your defined goal every week. People tend to give more readily toward a project they can picture, and they like watching the thermometer move (yes, even those people who say a thermometer poster is cheesy).
Establish a rhythm
Giving Tuesday falls on December 1 this year, which leaves you plenty of time to tell a story well.
- Before Thanksgiving: Announce your end-of-year goal and what it will fund. Repeat this message often, and remember that a lay leader or ministry team chair sharing it from the front of the room on Sunday carries more weight.
- Giving Tuesday: Just before the big day, share a specific story to inspire generosity, tied to a single concept and a clear giving link to rally around.
- Mid-December: Share a progress update with your donors. If a family or your endowment committee will offer a matching gift, announce it here.
- Final week of the year: Make a final appeal. If you're on the cusp of your goal, communicate how close you are to achieving something incredible together. And, if you've already reached your fundraising goal, express how additional funds might amplify the project further.
Give in under a minute, on any device
Every path to give should be fast and simple. Your website, your church app, and the QR code on the Christmas Eve bulletin should all point to the same year-end fund. Text giving and tap-to-give stations help facilitate the process for visitors who came with family and won't be back until Easter.
Put a recurring option right on the confirmation screen, too. A December giver who switches to monthly is worth more to your 2027 ministry than one big check, and Pushpay's Everygift technology keeps those gifts coming by catching expired cards and recovering failed payments before anyone notices a gap.
The bigger gifts most churches miss
Most congregations have card and bank giving covered, but far fewer have a simple way to receive assets, which tend to be much larger.
Stock gifts are an easy win at the end of the year. A member who gives appreciated shares directly usually avoids capital gains tax on the growth, so they can give more than they would in cash. Cryptocurrency made plenty of church treasurers nervous a few years ago, and that caution was fair. But Engiven reports an average crypto donation of about $15,000. That's a lot of ministry potential to turn away simply because your system can't process it.
Then there are donor-advised funds, one of the fastest-growing ways Americans give. A DAF lets a household set aside charitable dollars, take the tax benefit now, and recommend grants later. And research shows that most of those recommendations get made in December. Check if your church software can accommodate DAF gifts, so those grants can land alongside the rest of your year-end giving.
Members age 70½ and older can also make qualified charitable distributions, letting them give straight from an eligible IRA and lowering their taxable income. In many United Methodist congregations, that includes a sizable share of your most faithful givers.
One major caveat: None of these channels for generosity help if nobody knows they exist. Add a short explainer of every type of donation you accept to your giving page, be sure to mention it in the November newsletter, and encourage community members to talk with their financial advisers to find the type of gift most suited to their situation.
Thank people twice
Especially when someone contributes to a specific fund or project, send a receipt right away. And, be sure to write that thank-you note personally. Nothing will more quickly alienate a generous member of your community than a generic acknowledgement.
You can also send short notes with ongoing results about the project. Then in January, share the final total from the pulpit, explain exactly where the money is going, and tell people when to expect their giving statements.
That January follow-up is the one most churches skip, but it's the one donors remember next November.
So, start this week. Choose your goal, pull the data, and get Giving Tuesday on the calendar before Thanksgiving swallows the rest of your fall.
Turn December givers into year-round givers with Pushpay's Recurring Giving Playbook