Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many people focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. Now in it’s fifth year, it is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. (more…)
I’ve been spending a lot of time on Southwest Airlines flights this year. And it’s all my wife’s fault. She travels for work at least once a month, and – since my work for Mogiv can be done from anywhere with Wi-Fi and cell reception – I’ve made a habit of tagging along. Especially when she’s traveling to a city with an abundance of mountains, beaches, coffee shops, or some combination thereof.
Whether you’ve flown on Southwest Airlines or not, I bet you’re well familiar with their brightly colored planes and quirky antics. Their winning corporate culture, and uncommon approach to air travel have won them numerous awards over the years and have inspired more than a few business school case studies.
But corporate execs and rival airlines aren’t the only ones who could borrow a page or two from Southwest’s playbook. Those of us working in fundraising and church stewardship could learn a few things from them as well!
Turns out, some of the things Southwest is getting right are as essential for online giving as they are for air travel. Seem like a stretch? Let me show you what I mean. Here are three parallels that I jotted down on a recent Southwest Flight. (more…)
If you’ve been reading The Mogiv Minute for more than…a minute, you’ve probably heard us saying some pretty outlandish things about our giving platform.
You’d be forgiven for regarding these claims a bit skeptically. The Internet is filled with dubious and overly enthusiastic claims. From the “!!!!” ridden headlines lining my social media accounts, it seems sometimes like every cheesy car dealership commercial I’ve ever seen has been uploaded directly to my computer. I’m sure you’ve experienced the same.
And besides, it’s not as if Mogiv is an un-biased source either. Of course we think Mogiv is fantastic! We built it! 🙂
So that’s why we’re asking you to NOT take our word for it. Whenever we can, we want to share with you what actual users are actually saying about Mogiv. This is why we’ve included customer quotes on our homepage, and lengthier testimonials on our Customer Spotlight page. It’s also why we have created profiles on various software review websites – like Capterra and Software Advice. (more…)
By: Generis Team
If the only time your church talks about money is when you need money, you aren’t leveraging the worship service to create a generous church. There is a place for honest dialogue about the state of the church budget, but it is not healthy for pastors to speak about finances only when the church is in need. This is why it’s important to regularly preach about generosity and stewardship as an essential aspect of discipleship and following Christ.
Sometimes the way we approach the connection between ministry and money makes people uncomfortable. We should view money not as a necessary evil to be reckoned with but as a partner for ministry. No ministry thrives without needed resources. If ministry is the vehicle for accomplishing our mission, financial resources are the fuel. (more…)
As I talk with pastors and ministry leaders about transforming the way giving is discussed in their congregations, one of the high points I hit most frequently is the importance of using stories when discussing generosity. I’ll say things like “names over numbers” and “stories instead of statistics,” and we’ll talk at length about the deep-seated human desire for narrative.
As wonderful as alliterative couplets might be, they don’t tell the whole story. (Forgive the pun.) Which is why I want to dive a bit deeper today. And I want to do so with the help of a friend who spends a considerable percentage of his days thinking and talking about giving to churches.
Erik Ely is a Generosity Strategist for Generis, and he brings over 20 years of experience to this conversation. Erik and I had a conversation recently about where, how, and why churches need to deploy stories for the sake of stewardship. (Last alliteration. Promise.) Below are the highlights of that discussion. Enjoy! (more…)
