We are weeks away from summer, which is traditionally one of the most challenging times of the year. As I work with churches to avoid this potential financial hardship, I heavily use digital giving. One pastor summed up digital giving’s impact on summer giving as taking the angst out of summer. By that, he meant they could pay their bills on time, fund all their summer missions and ministry endeavors, and pay the staff on time. Doesn’t that sound attractive?
You, too, could avoid the angst of summer giving by utilizing a digital giving strategy this summer. To help you do that, let me point out the most common mistakes churches make regarding their digital giving strategy.
Not having a digital giving strategy. Most churches in America today offer some type of digital giving. Yet few have a strategy. The more successful churches in terms of digital giving know their audience, their demographics of usage, and other key factors that help them craft appeals. At OnlineGiving.org, we know the value of this information, and our dashboard gives you real-time data to better plan out your strategy. Read more about our dashboard here: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/not-your-fathers-dashboard.
Setting up a giving site and then forgetting about it. Your members won’t magically find your giving site. You have to continually keep digital giving in the minds of your donors. Consider running a campaign announcing digital giving features, explaining how easy it is, and encouraging members to sign up. Then, throughout the year, at various times and across all platforms, continually point out that people can give online.
Not driving people to your site. You can encourage more visits to your giving page by utilizing clickable links directly to the site. Every digital communication should always contain a clickable link that sends people directly to the giving page for ease of use. A clickable link in a social media post is a great way to show people what their gift accomplishes while allowing them to give. Follow this clickable link to find a post on how to use social media here: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/share-the-vision-with-social-media.
Not making your giving site easily accessible and visible. Studies show you have less than 10 seconds once a person has landed on your website before they bail out. So, make your giving site easy to find and easy to use. It doesn’t have to be a flashing light, but people should not have to search for your giving site.
Not giving multiple options by how people can give online. You must have all the major platforms people use today. From text giving to setting up recurring giving, you want to provide multiple options, thus allowing people to use what they like best. We give you over a dozen options to choose from.
Not putting a focus on the benefits of recurring giving. In terms of digital giving, this is my ultimate goal. Why? Because they will never forget their offering ever again with automated giving. As a result, your giving goes up. Also, encouraging donors to give with ACH ensures the lowest rate charged for processing. You end up with more money to do more of God's work.
For more information on the value of ACH recurring giving, see this post: https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/summer-proof-your-generosity
Avoiding these common mistakes can improve your giving results. Doing so will help you develop a summer giving plan that leans heavily on a digital strategy. Your goal should be to create through your stories of life change a willingness to want to give to your church. You then must create a simple and easy path for them to give. Especially in summer, the easier you make it for people to give, the more apt they will give. Call us today at (615) 206-4000 or drop us a line at support@onlinegiving.org for more information about how our platform and coaching can help you avoid a summer slump in giving.
The Stewardship Coach
Avoid the angst of summer giving by creating a digital giving strategy. To help you start, let us point out the most common mistakes churches make regarding their digital giving strategy.https://t.co/sD44YVgkyX pic.twitter.com/wqphuW6Ius
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) April 11, 2024
