Rev. Lynn Benson – Director of Legacy Giving, UMF
Last week while meeting with a friend she commented on all the calendars she’d received in the mail for the new year. It seems the popular thing for 501c3 organizations to do to thank their donors by sending them a calendar, or three. (Yes, she said one group sent her three of the same calendars.)
Yet, I kind of like a calendar, especially a new calendar with nothing written on it. It seems so fresh, so full of possibilities, and so unincumbered with obligations. However, it doesn’t take long from new calendars to begin getting filled up. So, what’s on your January calendar?
I want to share a calendar with you specifically for stewardship, here’s the link: 2022 Generosity Calendar. This calendar created by a clergy colleague, Cesie Scheuermann, merely gets you thinking and dreaming for the coming year. It highlights some of the things that can be done to really get your congregation or organization celebrating generosity.
You’ll see at the top of the 2022 Generosity Calendar, Cesie recommends writing three thank you notes a day. If that works for you-terrific, have at it! But you might be more like me and think, I want to knock this out and just write everyone who gave to the church in 2021 a note of appreciation in January. If you like that idea, then now is a terrific time to get those notes done. You can mail them separately, or they can be included in the year-end giving statements that are being prepared at this very moment. Either way, a hand-written note means so much and often gets noticed much more than something typed and/or printed. People remember a hand-written note, probably because we get so few of them.
There are plenty of great ideas in the 2022 Generosity Calendar. Ultimately, it’s one more calendar, I know. But it’s probably different from any other calendar you have. This one encourages you to encourage others and in doing so, spirits are lifted. We’ve all gone through a rough year…well, two years, right? Let them know you care with a “well placed” thank you either verbally, in a note, or a phone call.
Gratitude is contagious – infect someone today!