I Phone Lapsed Donors

Early in my ministry when monthly donors stopped or skipped, I hesitated to contact them. Negative thoughts flooded my mind:

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• “They’re mad at me!”  

• “Was it something I said?”

• “I should have not joked about their goofy cat!”

Three-month-lapses became 6-month, then 9-month lapses. I thought, “If I phone, I will probably offend…but if I don’t phone, will they assume I didn’t miss their gift?”

Finally, with sweaty palms I dialed the number of a 6-month lapser.

To my surprise they seemed glad I called. “Scott, good to hear from you, how are you and Alma doing?” Discombobulated, I briefly shared family news. Then, holding my breath, I mentioned that I noticed their usually consistent monthly support had stopped, asking, “Is everything okay?”

They were not angry. They were surprised. They’d forgotten that their auto-deduct bank account had closed. “Thank you for calling,” they said.  And they re-started the next month. Glad I called!

What I Learned: In my experience in talking with lapsed donors, more than 50% of lapses come from banking errors, credit card errors or simply forgetting. Our giving partners were not angry!

Another time, a lapsed donor sadly explained that he lost his job. I said, “Thank you for telling me. How can I help?” We had a wonderful conversation about his job and spiritual life. Then we prayed together. In a year they restarted support.

What I say: “Your support has been so faithful over the years, but I noticed that your gifts have not come into our account the last [three] months. Is everything okay?” 

In a similar vein, Paul said to Barnabas:

“Let us go again and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”— Acts 15:36

Prayer: Father in Heaven, please give me courage and grace to contact my lapsed partners to “see how they are.” Help me see this as a ministry, not debt collection. Amen.