After six years of consistent and considerable growth, the importance of online and mobile giving has now been firmly established. Yet for many churches and charitable organizations, the thought of introducing digital giving to their supporters is more than a little intimidating.
But it doesn’t need to be! Yes, it requires a bit of research and a bit of legwork, but a successful digital giving solution really comes down to getting three basic things right. Focus on the three things below, and you’ll be an e-giving expert in no time at all!
1) The Right Platform
I could write an entire series of posts on this point alone. For our purposes today, lets just focus on the three essentials that any self-respecting online giving platform will include.
Scheduled giving: Online giving’s ability to transform one-time givers into consistent monthly “partners” can completely transform your organization’s finances. Your platform should make recurring giving a snap. The less time and fewer clicks required, the better!
Mobile integration: Mobile Internet usage is expected to overtake desktop usage by the end of this year. Your online giving solution needs to be a mobile giving solution as well. Giving apps, mobile optimized forms, text giving, something really cool we haven’t even heard of yet. It doesn’t have to be one thing, just make sure you’ve got something.
Customization / Flexibility: How seamless does your platform integrate with your website? Does it allow you to easily create multiple giving campaigns? Can the reports be customized to your liking? Can givers easily control and modify their giving activity? Your fundraising needs are always changing and your platform should be able to change with them. (more…)