5 Ways Technology Can Improve Giving at Your Church

In 2017, technology will continue to be a big part of the “giving picture.” It’s been true for a while but online giving, texting, kiosks to swipe a debit card, and all of those “optional” things are becoming more and more the norm.

Here are five areas of technology you should be considering to help your church or ministry:

1. Databases -- It’s Time to Get Organized

If you’re using a database to organize your church, you already understand the benefits. But if you’re using QuickBooks or spreadsheets to manage your giving and track donors, you are missing some great opportunities. To get the most benefit from a ChMS when it comes to giving, look for a system with a robust database to track donations, link donors into families, and seamlessly integrate with other tasks in your church.

You’ll also need a way to track giving campaigns, pull reports for segmented thank you notes, view trends, highlight new givers, and track giving on an individual or household basis. If you’re interested in learning more, click here.

2. Recurring Giving -- It’s Time to Get Predictable

Making it easy to give regularly is one of the major keys to church or ministry growth. Banks love knowing that you have a solid base of recurring donors, finance committees love knowing they can make predictable decisions, and -- most importantly -- your donors will love knowing that they are committed to caring for their church and community.

Setting up a recurring gift is one of the greatest ways your congregation can show their support. Understanding the benefits of a well-funded church and providing a way to use technology to make it easy can be a time of great growth -- both financially and spiritually.

3. Text-to-Give -- It’s Time to Get Portable

What if people could give spur of the moment? Setting up text-to-give allows your congregation to give whenever and wherever the moment strikes.

Younger donors will feel at home in this technology, and it’s easy to learn and teach, too. Imagine a visiting pastor telling about the work of local missionaries and making a passionate plea for support with a new project for housing or food. If you have text-to-give set up, you can use a customized code and manage a funding effort right on the spot.

4. Giving Kiosks -- It’s Time to Get Flexible

One of the best ways to get your church involved in online giving is to use tablet kiosks in your services -- and other places as well. You can use a giving station (as a stand up or table top kiosk) in your sanctuary, lobby, on a field trip (with wi-fi), in your bookstore, or wherever the need strikes. You can determine how to get your congregation involved. Find the combination that fits your community.

5. Customized Pages -- It’s Time to Get Personal

In all the ways you use giving technology, make sure you don’t lose your congregation’s trust. Keep your online giving pages “branded” to look and feel like your church. Five or ten years ago, you could get away with using a page that was straight out of the can from your donation processing company. But today, that just looks like you don’t know what you’re doing; you will lose the trust (and the interest!) of your viewers. Make sure you can add your church’s logo, color scheme, and some introductory text.

And don’t forget your social media pages! If you’re running a special campaign make sure you get graphics that match for your Facebook, Twitter, and whatever your church is using. Keeping the imaging consistent builds continuity and helps keep the excitement high.

But the whole point of all this technology is to help your community grow. Funding your church is about so much more than dollars and cents. Technology allows you to have more ways to encourage spiritual growth and create real movement and change in your community.

NEXT STEPS:

Which giving technology will you try in 2017?

Read on for more information about e360 Giving. Make sure you try an online giving platform packed with features so you can serve your congregation well. Make sure you find a solution that will serve both the donor and the administrator -- don’t make it more complicated than it has to be.