I pulled out my wallet and realized, I was out of cash!
If you have spoken with your Regional Director in the last couple of years, you are probably getting sick of hearing us talk about online giving. It has become somewhat of a mantra here in the development office. We are big fans of making it easy for people to give!
A while back, my wife and I attended a baptism for our friend’s child. While we were sitting in the pew, I thought we should at least put a few bucks in the offering plate. I pulled out my wallet and realized I was out of cash. This is not too surprising as I don’t carry cash that often, but I thought I had at least $10 on me.
Looking at my empty wallet, I remembered I could make a gift online. I opened the bulletin and looked for a QR code or a web address. I found the church website, pulled it up on my phone and searched for the giving button. I was disappointed because I could not see a place to make a donation. I put my phone back in my pocket and enjoyed the rest of the service, but the church never got a donation from me that day. I wanted to give, but the church failed to make it easy and didn't provide me with giving options.
Now, think about your parish. Is it easy to make a donation? Do you have online giving? Is the donate button easy to find on your website? Do you have text to give?
The bottom line is this; when a parish implements online giving, makes a considerable effort to get parishioners to give online and makes it super easy, you just might see giving increase!
You don’t have to take my word for it. Check out this article in the Baltimore Sun.
Beyond the collection plate: These Maryland churches are preaching the value of electronic giving
