Tag: stewardship

The Internet has been many things over the past two decades. At first it was a novelty. Then it was a super highway, a boom, a bubble, a bust, and a new frontier. Along the way, it became wireless, social, lightning fast, and mobile. And now, as we start another year, it has become a few other things as well. Indispensable. Ubiquitous. Inescapable. As essential to our daily lives as automobiles and electricity.

And yet despite all of this, many churches continue to treat the Internet as if it is a fad or inessential luxury. This is especially true when it comes to engaging with online and mobile giving tools.

Despite the fact that less than 7% of transactions in the United States are conducted via cash and check, over 75% of American churches still do not offer any form of online giving. That’s right. Three out of every four churches in America are staking their financial health on the hope that their members will give consistently using payment methods they only use 7% of the time. In 2015!

If this describes your church – if you and your team have relegated digital giving to a “we’ll get to it one of these days” type of conversation – then I have a challenge for you. I challenge you to make 2015 “one of those days.” Make 2015 the year you take online and mobile stewardship seriously. (more…)

While we don’t typically make a habit of sharing content created by our competitors, the “10 Things You Should Know About Online Giving” eBook produced by ServiceU is too good to keep to ourselves.

In only 13 pages, this resource succinctly addresses many of the most common objections to online giving, while also making a compelling case that online and mobile channels represent the future of giving to the church.

The entire document is certainly worth your time, but, if you’re looking for just the high points, below are a few especially insightful selections.

“It’s amazing that so many churches continue to resist the online, digital revolution taking place. It’s as if the pastor or church doesn’t acknowledge it, then it’s not happening or not true. So many church leaders fall into the trap of thinking that if they don’t use the internet for these things, then the people in the pew don’t either.” (more…)

Each week, as I talk with pastors, administrators and elder boards about the impact that online giving can have in their churches, there is one question that comes up more frequently than any other: “Why should we be paying 1 – 3% in processing fees for donations we could be getting for free?”

This is a valid and important question, but “donations we could be getting for free” misses two key points.

First, gifts received via cash and check are not really “free.” Someone on your staff has to count them, organize them, enter them into your accounting system, safely store them and then go to the bank in-person to deposit them. Online giving automates all of these processes, reducing your labor costs.

Second, online giving does not compete with the gifts you are already receiving via cash and check. The reason online giving to religious organizations increased 18.1% in 2013 is because more and more churches realized there are gifts that the offering plate is missing. (more…)

“We have young people at our church, but most of them give inconsistently or not at all.”

Have you ever heard or said this at your church?  Join the club.  Figuring out how to encourage consistent giving among young churchgoers is not a new challenge, but it is certainly a common one.

Enter the Millennial Impact Project, a research group that helps organizations better engage with the Millennial Generation (i.e. people born from 1979 – 1994).  Here are a few key findings from last year’s report:

–83% of Millennial respondents said they gave a gift to a nonprofit organization last year

-84% of Millennials said they prefer to give on a website, while giving in person came in a distant second with 48%

-52% of Millennial respondents say they’d be interested in monthly giving

These statistics are encouraging because they point to a solution that is technological as opposed to psychological or spiritual. The problem with your young givers is not that they are poor, selfish, or disinterested; it is simply that you may not have the right tools in place to collect their gifts.

Think about it. When was the last time you saw a 20-24 year old with a checkbook?  Conversely, when was the last time you saw that same person without their phone?  Millennials are already shopping, socializing, and going to school on the Internet and via their smartphones.  Why not provide a way for them to give back to The Lord through those channels as well?

If you think mobile and online giving might be a path to connecting with your young givers, we would love to hear from you! Our intuitive online giving form makes it possible to create a monthly gift in under 60 seconds. Our text giving option allows attendees – especially twenty-somethings who have never used a checkbook – to text in tithes and offerings right from their seat. Feel free to contact us at info@mogiv.com or at (760) 205-1165 to learn more about these and other solutions.

(NOTE: While technology and internet usage is commonly regarded as the realm of the young, your twenty-­somethings are not the only ones who will find value in an online giving option. A recent study of “mature givers” revealed that 47% of donors over the age of 60 gave a gift online last year.)

(Photo from examiner.com.)