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Digital Giving is the new normal
Over the last few years, the world has slowly been transitioning towards a cashless society with the emergence of contactless payment and tap and go options. Shopping online and paying bills digitally has become the new normal across all generations especially in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, as fewer millennials attend church, it’s becoming critical for churches to improve their online strategy in order to appeal to younger individuals. In this article, we’ll explain what digital giving is before diving into the powerful benefits that have rendered this concept the new normal.
What is Digital Giving?
Digital giving is the action to donate money to charitable organizations online. There are a few different ways to donate online:
Text-To-Give
The charity or organization sends a text to the donor with a link for them to donate. This is a quick and easy way to give to your favorite charitable organizations via mobile phone.
Giving Website Page
You can also offer a giving option through your website by embedding a payment system. Make sure you work with a marketing partner to ensure your website is optimized and your giving page appeals to donors.
Digital Giving App
In this day and age, offering the option to donate via an app can be very efficient. Indeed, an app enables quick and easy access to the donation page as well as recurring payment setups, reminders, messaging options and other useful functionalities.
Benefits of Digital Giving
Cashless society
A study led by DepositAccounts and published in 2019, has shown that 33% of Americans can’t make a $20 purchase unless they go to the ATM. Indeed, people carry less cash than ever before, limiting the donations you can hope to receive on Sundays. As a result of this shift, 49% of church donations in the USA now stem from credit cards. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated the adoption of cashless payments for health purposes as contactless payments significantly reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.
Offering online payment options to your parishioners will therefore likely ensure the survival and success of your church. It’ll mitigate the risk of your parishioners forgetting cash and make it easy for them to set up recurring donations so that they can even give when away or on vacation.
People prefer to give online
Trends are shifting and people prefer to give online may it be through a church website or a dedicated app. According to a recent study led by Reach Right, approximately 60% of people prefer to give online. Balancing Everything also released a recent study highlighting that 26% of people who attend Mass on a weekly basis give online. Therefore, churches need to embrace new technologies and harness the power of online charitable giving in order to thrive in the future.
Online giving is more flexible and secure
Online giving, may it be via text-to-give, an app or a website is an extremely convenient way to donate for churchgoers. Indeed, by allowing them to donate online, you also ensure they can give whenever they want and as often as they want. Not only is online giving no longer restricting them to give on Sundays only, but it’s also allowing them to pick the best time for them to do so.
Digital giving is also a seamless process. Not only does it allow parishioners to give at the click of a simple button, but it also makes the whole process hassle-free for you. With online giving, you can easily track your donations and monitor their evolution. That way, you can quickly implement strategies if donations decrease.
Last but not least, digital giving can increase your donation efficiency as it will prevent cash money from being lost or stolen. Working with online payment ensures your donations are secure on a bank account you can easily access!
Smartphone and Internet use is widespread
81% of Americans own a smartphone and chances are they’ll have it with them at church making it easy to donate online before, during or after the service. Moreover, 87% have access to the internet, therefore offering a tremendous opportunity for your church to tap into.