4 Tips for Writing Pledge Reminders 7064

4 Tips for Writing Pledge Reminders

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b5e830e527dacbda589aede7938942ea-huge-plWhy do your congregants make donations and pledges to your church? They do it out of love and support for your church community. So why do pledge reminders often seem like a bill collector is asking for the next payment on a payment plan?

You can make your pledge reminders reflect the caring reminders they are by following a few best practices.
  1. Informal and friendly: Keep pledge reminders short and personal, use the donor’s preferred informal salutation, and avoid content that reads like a legal document or collection notice.
  2. Informative and helpful: Include details about the next installment, such as when it is due, how much is due, and the campaign or fund to which it applies.
  3. Easy and understanding: Life is crazy—make it easy for your congregation to make payments. Include instructions on how they can make a payment online through your organization’s website, and offer a postage-paid envelope for the less tech-savvy supporters.
  4. Follow up: If a donor doesn’t respond to a pledge reminder by the due date, follow up with another friendly reminder and postage-paid envelope at the end of the month. After another month with no response, contact the donor to suggest another pledge schedule. Don’t give up, don’t be discouraged, and don’t be impatient. Understand that donors likely want to fulfill their pledges, but their circumstances can change. Open up the lines of communication so donors feel comfortable letting you know that they may need to adjust their pledge or upcoming payments.
Want to learn more tips for creating effective pledge reminders? Check out the Blackbaud Church Management: Database View – Basics of Pledges today.

Have an example of great pledge reminder? Please share in the comments, so we can all learn together.
 

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1 Comments

great article, you are really a professional in my eyes.

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