Today, when a majority of financial transactions happen online, sticking to cash and checks for tithes and donations is not doing any good to your church. Implementing online giving in your church will make the donation process more convenient and accessible for your congregation. In fact, the online giving method is becoming increasingly popular among church members all over the world. Before we discuss the benefits of online giving and how you can set it up for your church, let us understand what an online giving platform is all about.
What is an Online Giving Platform?
An online giving platform is designed to help churches collect and manage donations and tithes securely through the Internet. It is essentially church software that lets church members give their tithes online and make contributions to specific giving campaigns more effectively. The platform facilitates paperless transactions, enabling donors to transfer directly from their bank account or debit/credit cards to the church in the safest manner.
Having a functional online giving platform encourages more giving since people are now able to securely contribute from anywhere at any time. However, it is important to ensure that the online donation platform you choose for the church integrates seamlessly with your general church management software. The integration will make it easier for you to track the church’s finances, monitor the giving trends, and securely receive donations online.
Understanding the Benefits of Online Giving
When you allow church members to give their tithes and donations online, you reduce the administrative workload on church staff while promoting the church’s overall growth. The primary goals of the software are to enhance donation convenience and boost the financial stability of the church. Additionally, there are ways online giving can benefit your church in the long run.
Fewer Transactions Involving Cash and Checks
As mentioned, online giving reduces the workload of church staff as they no longer need to spend hours handling contributions made via cash or check. Some people will still make contributions using cash or checks, but the numbers will be significantly reduced.
Hassle-Free Donation Tracking
Most online giving platforms have built-in tracking features that allow churches to monitor tithing and donations in one place easily. As you now have a more convenient way of tracking donations, you do not need to spend hours figuring out spreadsheets.
Automation
A majority of the online giving platforms have the option to set up recurring giving, making the online giving process absolutely effortless for users. Also, the contributions made through recurring donations ensure that the church’s growth is not disrupted due to a lack of funds, offering financial stability to the institution.
Contactless Contributions
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant rise in demand for contactless options. With an online giving platform, you can facilitate a contactless contribution option. Apart from making the process more convenient for the church staff, it is also critical to your congregation’s health.
Choosing the Right Online Giving Platform
While choosing a platform for online donations and tithes, you need to consider a few crucial factors.
Mobile Giving Option
The platform you choose for online church donations should come with its own app. People prefer using task-specific apps over websites. If you want to facilitate an online giving solution that people are going to feel comfortable using, it should include a custom church app for donations.
Ease of Making Donations
The platform you choose should make the entire giving process simpler for the donor as well as the church. A majority of people don’t follow through if a mobile transaction takes more than 30 seconds to complete. The platform should allow donors to process the donation in only a few seconds.
Seamless Integration with ChMS
If you have been using church management software, make sure the church donation software integrates with it seamlessly. If it does not merge with your existing ChMS platform, your work will be a lot more complicated. You may even need to manually feed the online giving program data to the ChMS platform.
Recurring Giving
A majority of the churchgoers (more than 90%) do not regularly contribute to the donation process, even though they may not miss a single event registration. If the platform lets you set up recurring giving, this will benefit the church and spearhead its growth. Make sure the platform allows donors to set up recurring donations from their own giving accounts.
Cost
Apart from checking out the aforementioned features, you may also need to look at the fee structure (including transaction fees and monthly fees) before you choose a platform for online donations for your church. You need to consider your church budget and see which one fits the bill.
Additional Security
Online giving platforms use encryption and other security measures to ensure all transactions are made securely. Moreover, moving to the online process is more convenient for donors as it reduces the risk of money or checks being misplaced or stolen.
Setting Up Your Online Giving Platform
Once you have selected one of the online giving platforms for your church, you need to follow the steps to set it up and receive online donations through it.
Step 1: Create an Account
Irrespective of the giving platform you choose, the steps for setting it up remain the same for almost every option. Start by creating an account on the platform. For that, you need to provide the basic details about your church, such as name, address, bank account details, tax ID number, etc.
Step 2: Customize Your Giving Page
After creating an account, you need to personalize the church-giving web page on the platform to match the church’s branding and messaging. Make sure the giving page reflects the values and mission of your church. It will also help if you maintain consistency between the platform and your church’s website.
Step 3: Set Up Payment Processing
Next, you need to configure your donation options. Here, you can select the methods by which you want to accept donations, the suggested amount of online tithes, and the recurring donations feature. You should also create custom payment forms using clear and concise language while optimizing for mobile giving options.
Step 4: Test the System
You should test the platform before going live to ensure that it is working according to its reputation. Check how efficiently it allows donors to make contributions. See if it seamlessly integrates with your ChMS platform or not. And most importantly, test the level of security it provides for transactions and sensitive data of congregation members.
Step 5: Train Your Staff and Volunteers
If you are satisfied with all the tests, you need to focus on training the church members and volunteers on how to use the online giving program properly. The training involves showing how to process online donations, update donor information, and generate valuable giving reports. The job becomes a lot easier when the platform has a sound adoption plan.
As soon as you are done setting up the online giving tool, you can start promoting it to the congregation members so that it encourages consistent donations.
Promoting Online Giving to Your Congregation
There are different channels to promote the online donation system to your congregation. You can use the church website, church social media posts, and newsletters to inform the members that the church has implemented online giving features to raise money. You may also discuss the new donation option during a worship service when a majority of the members are present at your church.
Start by explaining the benefits of online giving and offering clear instructions about how to use the platform. You may also need to address any concerns or misconceptions that may be stopping your members from using the option. It is important to reassure your members that the online platform is safe, secure, and easy to use, encouraging them to adopt this mode of contribution.
Encouraging Recurring Donations
As mentioned before, online giving offers you the opportunity to set up recurring donations. This simple but impactful feature allows church members to choose a specific amount that they can donate regularly using the digital giving options. The amount can be automatically deducted from their bank accounts or charged to their credit/debit cards.
Recurring donations can provide your church with a steady income stream and simplify giving for your members. People often miss church donations due to personal reasons or other inconveniences. By encouraging them to set up recurring donations, you ensure that they are proactively involved in the growth of the church.
Ensuring Security and Transparency
While implementing online giving for churches, you also need to ensure proper security and privacy for all the users. If you want your church members to contribute to a certain giving campaign electronically, you need to convince them that their personal and financial information will be kept safe. This is why it becomes important to choose safe and secure online giving platforms. You will also need to ensure that your website is one of the most secure digital giving websites for churches that maintain transparency with donors.
Leveraging Data and Feedback
Setting up an online giving platform and promoting it to the members is only half the work. You also need to monitor the effectiveness of the platform and evaluate the data. This involves tracking donation details, monitoring trends, and gathering feedback from the congregation. Such information will help you identify any issues or challenges with the platform and make the necessary improvements to optimize your strategy.
You can also monitor and evaluate your online giving to get valuable insights into the members’ giving habits. By studying the details, you can develop a better understanding of your congregation and make more informed decisions about fundraising strategies.
Key Takeaways: Elevating Church Giving with One Church Software
While implementing online giving in your church may seem challenging at first, it offers unique features that benefit the church in several ways. As long as you understand the process, select the right platform, and promote its use to your congregation, you can use online giving to enhance your church’s operational efficiency.
Now that you have a clear understanding of how to set up online giving for your church, it is time to explore the options available in the market. One Church Software offers a dedicated online giving solution to boost donations and streamline giving for your church. From ensuring the safety and privacy of your members’ data to helping you customize the online giving form, One Church Software offers all kinds of support you expect from an ideal online giving platform.