I’ve been sharing information about electronic giving for a little while now. Here’s a brief overview:
Studies have shown that implementing electronic giving well at a church can increase overall giving by 10-30%.
Yet many churches continue to resist the online, digital revolution taking place. We have a huge opportunity to increase revenues by taking advantage of technology that is readily available, here to stay, and familiar to most of us. It’s easy to implement and use, simple to maintain, and cost effective. Reporting is excellent, and can be integrated with your current donation software.
One type of electronic giving that is rapidly becoming the most popular method is mobile giving. By 2018 a majority of internet transactions will occur on mobile devices (smart phones and tablets.) At least two generations of people almost never write checks and are totally comfortable using smart phones for a dizzying variety of tasks.
Giving doesn't have to be complicated. Consider these five reasons to implement mobile giving:
- People are most likely to have their smart phones with them.
- Mobile giving offers the opportunity for those without cash or a checkbook to give in the Worship service.
- Mobile giving follows what the person in the pew is already doing to pay for other goods and services. (Have you see the new Starbucks mobile pay app?)
- Mobile giving creates an opportunity to capture someone’s email address for future church communication.
- People in the pew expect it to be easy to give to your church. (Though "easy" is defined in different ways by different people.)
I was sitting in a pew the other day and read in the bulletin that I could donate a gift for Easter flowers by writing a check, writing a note in the memo line, and mailing it to the church office by a certain date. It occurred to me that if electronic giving options were available I could donate to the Easter Flower fund in about 20 seconds right from my seat in the church. I believe that is the convenience and speed of response that people will be or already are looking for.
Mobile giving comes in two forms: through an app on your device, or by text to give. (Scanning QR codes is becoming outmoded.) The platform I am familiar with is Tithe.ly. Accounts are set up by a church quickly, easily, and at no cost. The mobile app is part of the package and is free to download. A “text to give” feature costs $15/month. These two links provide a quick demo and tutorial of the technology:
Mobile giving demo
If you are considering any electronic giving in your congregation please don’t hesitate to contact me for more information.
Also, we're offering a web conference on electronic giving with the CEO of Tithe.ly in June. See the announcement at the bottom of this email.
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