Let’s face it: you didn’t get into ministry because you loved talking about finances.
This is especially true when it comes to the ever-evolving world of online and mobile giving. You’ve probably heard that digital giving is something your church needs, but – with so many pressing concerns demanding your constant attention – when will you ever find the time to do the necessary research?
We get it. Giving technology is our passion, but it certainly isn’t (and shouldn’t be) yours!
So let’s cut out the clutter and focus on the basics. Let’s talk about The 5 Things Any Self-Respecting Church Giving Platform Should Include. Consider these your “online giving Spark Notes.” If your giving platform does a good job with these five things, you’ll already be head and shoulders above the rest.
1) Recurring Giving – This one comes up a lot, but with good reason. The ability to automate weekly and monthly donations is the #1 benefit online giving can provide your church. The easier and more flexible your platform makes this process, the better.
2) Seamless Integration – Your members want to give to your church, not to some technology company. So why send them away from your website to a generic landing page to complete the giving process? Giving forms that can be embedded directly onto your website or integrated directly with your app keep the church at the forefront and build trust with your givers. (Like THIS or THIS.)
3) Mobile Optimization – “Online giving” and “mobile giving” can no longer be viewed separately. With mobile devices now accounting for nearly 1/3 of all web traffic, your online giving system needs a mobile element. How you accomplish this (e.g. text giving, mobile optimized forms, an app, etc.) is up to you. Just don’t leave this important component out!
4) Multiple Giving Funds – Your church has varied and diverse giving needs. Whatever these needs may be, your online giving platform should make it easy for givers to designate their gifts to specific purposes within the church. Missions, Outreach, Benevolence, perhaps even a Building Fund – wherever your members give offline, there should be a place for them to give online as well!
5) Administrative Efficiency – Any online giving platform worth your time will help your bookkeepers make more efficient use of their time as well. How detailed are the reports? How user-friendly is the administrative backend? How quickly can bank accounts be reconciled? Ask these questions early, and your finance team will thank you often.
The cloud-based giving platform we’ve built here at Mogiv checks each of these boxes and many more. Whether or not that makes us the right solution for your church, we’d love to be a resource to help you along the way. To learn more, please visit our website or drop us a line at info@mogiv.com.