We have shared stories of successful fund raising by churches who wish to purchase capital items, such as Nativity sets. In discussion with committee heads, church deacons and members of the Knights of Columbus, the question arose, what more could Christmas Night do to facilitate the process. We now offer a presentation package of full color 81/2×11 inch photos with shipping costs and product specifications, assembled in an attractive folder. This package can be passed around to committee members for discussion and the photos are larger than what can be presented on the internet computer screen. We send many of these packages out each week and they seem to be well received.
We were asked if there was any way we could use our website shopping basket and other online tools to help churches with this fund raising. We think the way to go is using the “gift certificate” tool to allow church members to contribute easily to the set chosen by the decision makers. An email letter, with photo, could be sent to all parishioners announcing the choice and offering them the option of mailing a check to the church or visiting our website and purchasing a gift certificate for the set while referring to the church customer code. We could provide an email template for the church to use in communicating with their email list or we could do it for them. The purchase of certain sets could result in a discount through the use of matching. For example, on certain sets Christmas Night could offer a $100 contribution for every $1000 of gift certificates purchased.
As you can tell, this idea is still in the formative stages and we would like to solicit suggestions and comments from our readers and website visitors.