When you think of a church, you probably don’t expect the church leaders to be particularly interested in things like business and marketing. However, churches often need to raise money, whether for projects they are doing to try and improve the local community, or for maintenance of their own facilities. When churches need to raise money, they usually look to their communities for support, and it can really help get the message out and get people involved if they use some of the same techniques local businesses who want to market themselves use.
Here are some things businesses do, that churches can also apply to their fundraising efforts:
Have a Facebook Page
Almost all businesses use Facebook to keep their customers up to date with promotions, new products and other news. Churches can use Facebook in just the same way. Members of the congregation are usually happy to join their church’s group on Facebook, and are happy to see updates from them. Just as a business will usually mix in interesting content with the things that are promotional, churches can send inspirational bible quotes and other things that the members will enjoy, as well as using their page to tell people about fundraising events and efforts.
What is good about this is that when the church wants to do something like hold a sale or fair to try and raise money, whether it is for charitable work or because they need new church pews, it is easy for the church’s followers to share the details with other local people they know who may be interested in helping or attending but aren’t part of the church. This helps spread the word in the local community and get more people in to fundraising events to donate.
Have a Blog
A blog is a useful asset to a business because it helps people find them on the web using Google searches, and also gives potential customers a real sense of what the business is about. Churches can also run successful blogs, which can be good for helping people in the area looking for a church that is right for them get a feel for what the church is like – helping attract more people. This is also a great place to share fundraising news, and it can be really good for people who have contributed to see updates on the blog about how the money was spent.
Innovate
Businesses are always looking to set themselves apart and stand out to potential customers and investors. When churches look to raise money, they can also benefit from thinking outside of the box and coming up with fresh ideas that will capture the imagination of the community, rather than doing the ordinary things like bake sales. It can be easy to find fundraising inspiration online, and the more novel the concept, when it is promoted well using things like Facebook, the more successful it can be.
These are just some of the ways churches can take ideas from business and use them in their efforts to raise money.
