How to Grow Giving in Your Church: 3 Lessons Pastors Can Learn from Nonprofits

Are you a pastor looking for practical ways to grow giving in your church and engage those who rarely give or don’t give at all? You’re in the right place! In this post, I’ll share three lessons pastors can learn from successful nonprofits—insights that can help you inspire generosity, build trust, and foster a culture of giving in your congregation.

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How to Grow Giving in Your Church: 3 Lessons Pastors Can Learn from Nonprofits

Have you noticed that the traditional church funding model—relying on consistent tithes and offerings from members—is rapidly declining for many churches?

Many pastors I’ve spoken with say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to activate new attenders and younger generations as givers—or to encourage consistent giving from those who are already part of the congregation.

In America, skepticism toward churches and religious leaders has been growing. As I’ve mentioned in previous episodes, we seem to be in an era some are calling the Great De-Churching of America. This cultural shift means that many people attending church may not fully trust the institution or feel ready to give—especially not at the traditional tithe level of 10% of their income.

There are several factors at play. Some people who attend church struggle with trusting the church’s leadership or trusting God with their finances. Others, particularly younger generations, prefer giving to specific causes they care about rather than the general budget. Many young people see things like pastor salaries and building expenses as “overhead” and are hesitant to give toward those costs.

This leaves pastors with a critical question: How can churches engage the hearts of new attenders and younger generations and invite them to give in a way that aligns with their personal values?

The good news is that there are valuable lessons churches can learn from the nonprofit world when it comes to engaging new and younger donors.

To clarify, I know that most churches in the U.S. are considered "nonprofits" by the IRS. However, the traditional church funding model—largely dependent on tithes and offerings from the congregation—has been fundamentally different from how most nonprofits operate and raise funds.

Over the last 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of working in both the nonprofit and church worlds. In that time, I’ve learned a lot about how nonprofits engage and grow their donor base—methods that I think could benefit churches in today’s rapidly shifting landscape.

3 Lessons Pastors can Learn from Nonprofits to Grow Church Giving

1. Embrace Microgiving

Nonprofits understand the power of small gifts to initiate giving relationships. By asking for a small, no-brainer amount—something so low that nearly everyone would say yes—churches can encourage people to take their first step in giving. This could be an invitation to support a children’s outreach, a missionary project, or another tangible need. Once someone says yes to a small gift, it becomes easier to invite them to give again.

This isn’t about manipulation; it’s about meeting people where they are and offering them an easy way to start contributing. For those who aren’t in the habit of giving, a small, specific ask might be the key to opening their hearts to generosity. Once they begin giving, you have the opportunity to nurture that relationship further—something we’ll talk about more in lesson three.

2. Create a Monthly Giving Community

Most successful nonprofits today have monthly giving communities that turn one-time donors into regular supporters. You’ve likely seen TV ads inviting people to give $30 a month to St. Jude’s to care for a sick child or $11 a month to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation to provide a home for a wounded veteran. These monthly giving clubs are effective because they activate new donors and encourage consistency.

Churches can adopt this model by inviting people to join a community of monthly givers. Instead of asking for general contributions to the church fund, pastors can say something like, “Join our community of monthly givers, and help us make a lasting impact in our community and world by...(then share specific ways their giving will make a difference).

People want to be involved in a community where they know they're making a tangible difference in the lives of others. Also, everyone today is in the habit of making monthly payments for their car, mortgage, utility bills, streaming services, etc. And they're probably already making donations to other organizations or causes they care about.

3. Launch Personalized Nurture Campaigns

Some pastors I know are questioning how effective it is to make the traditional "offering" invitation in their worship service each week to try to engage non or infrequent givers. Personally, I believe there are ways to make the offering time more meaningful and engaging for all, and I'll be sharing my ideas in future episodes.

But one powerful way to engage non or infrequent givers is to create personalized nurture campaigns—specific, one-on-one invitations to give, made through conversations, mail, email, or even text.

This approach requires cultivating personal relationships and engaging individuals directly, just like how a church planter would seek to connect with new people personally, develop a relationship with them, share their vision for their church, and invite people to join the launch team and make a commitment to give.

For those who aren’t giving or only give occasionally, you might start with an invitation for microgiving. Then follow up with an invitation to join the monthly giving community. Over time, continue nurturing the relationship and offering additional steps to help them grow in their generosity.

Successful nonprofits have a long-term game plan for how to nurture their relationship with their donors, offering specific and meaningful opportunities to go from non-donor to micro-donor to monthly donor to sustaining donor to major donor. Do you?

Application & Action

Are you already using any of these nonprofit giving strategies in your church? If so, I’d love to know how it’s going for you!  And if these ideas are new to you, do any of them sound interesting or worth trying?

And if I can be of help to you in assessing your church's giving strategy and identifying ways to grow giving and engage those who rarely give or don't give at all, please let me know. You can email me at [email protected].