The Problem with Your General Fund and How to Fix It

"General Fund" and “Tithes” are the most common designations churches use to support day-to-day operations like staff salaries, facilities maintenance, and outreach programs.

These things, while perhaps not as tangible or inspiring as, say, digging a well in Somalia, are crucial. They *ARE the cost of doing good. *

Here’s the problem: Most people want to gather and worship in a comfortable building, but donating to pay for air conditioning doesn’t necessarily feel like worship or meaningful impact. So they may relate these expenses to waste, inefficiency, overpaid pastors and unnecessary extravagance, or believe that such expenses divert resources away from the core mission of the church. Mostly they simply lack awareness of what it takes to do good at the level churches do it.

Addressing the Aversion to Operational Costs

What can churches do? Potential solutions to this challenge can raise additional questions. For example, will offering an array of direct-to-recipient giving options…

• Lead to givers choosing only these funds, rather than helping support the ministry as a whole?
• Become a focus on the physical over the spiritual?
• Create a "consumerist" culture in the church, where givers expect to see a direct return on their investment?

The answer is simply a matter of articulation: Make sure your members know the ministry impact of the General Fund or Tithes.

3 Ways to “Reframe” Your General Fund

You don’t have to eliminate your General Fund. You can simply demonstrate the impacts of the expenses it covers in terms of the benefits they offer. This can take some intentionality and effort, but by making the effort, you build trust and transparency, which encourages continued or increased giving.

1. SHARE STORIES OF IMPACT

A powerful way to demonstrate the impacts of gifts given to the General Fund is to share actual stories of those who have been helped. It’s even better if the person who was helped is doing the talking. Video testimonies are very effective at keeping members informed of good they may not have heard about at the church, and providing a positive feedback loop for givers.

2. BE SPECIFIC IN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNUAL REPORTS

Whether in written or verbal form, make it a habit to convey, “When you give to our General Fund you are enabling our church to …”

For example, facilities expenses could be expressed in terms of:

• Benefits: A welcoming gathering place for meaningful worship and connections, sharing the gospel, educating children, ministering to the hurting and providing resources for under-served groups. Givers will think of their gift not in terms of air-conditioning, but of investing in the kingdom.
• Data: Professions of faith, people in need assisted, number of children taught in the kids and teens programs, meals served to the community, number of volunteers serving, wells dug, marriages saved, or any other metric related to your ministries. These are measurable impacts over time.

You can do the same with salaries or technology. Highlight how investments in staff have enabled the church to provide more robust services or programming for members and the community, or how investments in technology have improved efficiency and effectiveness.

3. LET TECHNOLOGY DO THE TALKING

In addition to other ways that giving opportunities are highlighted at your church, using an online giving page that includes a drop-down list of funds is a great first start. But if you want increase engagement, especially with new or younger givers, look for a solution that:

• Customizes your giving page to fit your church’s preferred giving language (i.e. Tithing + “Beyond the Tithe” gifts).
• Enables the use of images and descriptions to explain the impacts included in the General Fund (and other funds, if you so choose).
• Offers giving analytics for further demonstrating impact to your congregation.

Whether or not you offer additional funds, a description of the General Fund’s benefits embedded in your giving form communicates the idea that the church's mission is a collective effort, and that each member's contribution is vital to the success of that mission, as shown below.

The Learn More button allows givers to explore specifics of what the church is doing and where they can get involved. This message and strategy can help create a sense of community and shared responsibility among members.

Bringing Givers Together

By framing administrative expenses in terms of their positive impacts, rather than simply as a necessary evil, churches can help to counteract some of the prevailing distaste for these types of expenses. Bringing givers together around the church’s broader mission can motivate greater generosity and connection that support the overall health and vitality of the congregation.

Article Contributed by our Friends at Vision2 Systems

Vision2 is the comprehensive giving and stewardship solution for churches. Access CSN and Vision2’s joint 2022 Stewardship Survey results and resources to learn how churches are faring in the “new normal.” Or contact us at letstalk@vision2.com.

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