I am sure that somewhere there is a church where all the people who were asked got their pledges in on time!
The rest of us have to acknowledge that even when we do everything right, and we get all our pledge materials out, we do lots of communication, we schedule and publicize our in-gathering date, well…there will be some folks who wait, procrastinate, delay, in short, don't get their pledges in on time.
And we wonder why. Did they decide not to pledge? Is there an issue? Or did they forget? Just not get around to it yet? The good news is that it's usually just a matter of procrastination. But the reality is that that if you don’t follow up, they may never actually pledge.
Creating a Follow-Up Process
To ensure a smooth and effective follow-up process, consider these steps:
- Check Pledge Status: Create a spreadsheet listing everyone who was sent a pledge solicitation and mark whether they have returned their pledge. This will give you a clear picture of who has pledged and who hasn't.
- Thank Responsive Pledgers: As pledges come in, express gratitude to those who have responded. Don't wait until the end of the campaign. Showing appreciation from the start fosters a culture of generosity and encourages others to participate.
- Identify Non-Responsive Pledgers: Focus on those who haven't returned their pledges yet. This is where your follow-up efforts will be directed.
- Create Follow up forms for each of the Non-responsive pledgers. Use one form per household, and include contact information - phone and email, preferred names, and space for the caller to make notes. This will help follow-up callers stay organized and informed.
- Assign Follow-Up Responsibilities: Divide the non-responsive pledgers among stewardship committee members, vestry members, wardens, or other church leaders. Sharing the workload makes the follow-up process more manageable and efficient.
- Give the team a deadline: You don't want your callers to procrastinate themselves, so I recommend giving them a deadline to finish their calls by. And do reinforce that the goal is not to leave a voice mail, or to send a generic email. It's to personally connect with folks.
Possible Script - feel free to adapt
Here's a possible script for follow up calls, taken from Fearless Church Fundraising, by Charles LaFond. You can purchase this book on Amazon, and he's also created a website where most of it is available for free, click here. You can find the script here [PDF].
Hello, I am sorry to interrupt your evening, am I speaking to _____? (Remember, make sure you have the name right; if the person goes by a nickname or middle name, you should know in advance).
I am calling on behalf of ____ Church to follow up as we near the end of our Stewardship Campaign. It is going very well. (Add a piece of good news - perhaps you are ahead of where we were this time last year? Or people on average are increasing their pledge by more than __ percent. Or just add some good news about the Church - maybe upcoming Christmas services?).
You pledged last year and we were hoping that you could participate again this year. We would like to have all pledges in by ____ to help us plan ministry budget for the church. We are hoping to celebrate full participation of the whole church community at the ending celebration on this date ____.
Would you like me to get you another pledge card? You can also pledge online - can I send you that link? (Or, perhaps they can simply send an email to your parish administrator or treasurer. Whatever works for your church).
Thank you for your time!
Remember, most of the time, people will have just forgotten, or procrastinated. Of course, someone may be cranky and want to tell the caller about it. That's why you have a form, and they can take notes, which can be shared with clergy or lay leadership so that they can get in touch -- right away -- to discuss the issue.
Wishing you a Happy Stewardship Season and a Blessed Advent!
