Many church goers are inspired to give generous donations to their church when their minister reads out the famous verse in Luke 21:1-4 about the poor widow who put in her two very small copper coins - the only money she had to live on.  Besides digging deeper into your own pockets, what other ways can be used to increase donations to your church?

Wishing Well Fountains 

Most people love to make a wish and then throw their pennies into a wishing well fountain. Ever wonder where all these pennies go? Many of them go to help their local organizations. So why not approach a local mall or restaurant that has a wishing well fountain to see if your church can get one to collect all their coins for a week, or maybe even a month? Once approved, get your local radio station to talk about it and before you know it, tons of people will be going and throwing in their pennies to help out your church (and their dream wishes too).

Donation Jars

Many organizations put donation jars at the cash registers of local businesses. Just take a glass jar, and ensure the opening is wide enough for all sizes of change (and bills!) to fit through. Then, you can paste a picture of your church onto the jar, along with a little tag line such as “Help us raise funds to give others hope.” An alternative to donation jars, is placing candy bars at the checkout. This way people can donate $1 or $2 and get a yummy treat at the same time. This is a simple strategy, because when people are at the cash register they are already opening their wallets. What’s a bit of extra change to help out their local community? Some people will even give change just so that they do not look cheap in front of the cashier! Take advantage of it J

Amazon.com

Did you know that you can create a wish list on Amazon.com?

All you need to do is create an account for your church on the Amazon website. Next, browse through the website and add items that your church needs to your Wish List by clicking the “Add to Wish List” button. You can then choose to make your details public and email potential donors to let them know about your list.

Create a Wish List for your church.

Whether your church chooses a wishing well fountain, donation jars, a wish list or all three, you will surely be able to increase your donations with these simple ideas. 

Happy Church Donation Fundraising J