How to Choose the Best Online Giving for Churches

There’s no question that you need an online giving solution. But when you begin to weigh all the options, it can be a bit overwhelming. Don’t let that spur you into making a poor decision. Show due diligence and make a decision that’s going to benefit your church for the long haul.

As you weigh the pros and cons, here are features you’re going to need to look for:

1. It includes a mobile app

You don’t want a giving solution that’s entirely dependent upon a web browser or SMS text giving. People prefer using task-specific apps to fumbling with mobile sites. In fact, as of 2014, 89 percent of consumer media time was spent in specific apps as opposed to mobile web browsing.

More people every day are doing their banking through brand-specific apps as opposed to trying to maneuver their bank’s website. That should tell you something about how people think about handling their money digitally. If you want a giving solution that people are going to feel comfortable using, it needs to include an app.

2. It integrates with your church management software (ChMS)

If you’re using a ChMS, you’ve either done the difficult work of getting everyone to adopt it or you’re in the middle of that task. Any giving solution that doesn’t merge with your ChMS undermines that work and makes it harder to sell the giving solution to your community.

3. It allows for fast, simple donations

When it comes to digital processes, people expect things to happen fast. If a mobile transaction takes any longer than 30 seconds, 85 percent of people won’t follow through. You’re going to need an online giving solution that makes donating quick and painless.

4. It has a simple, clean interface

For your online giving solution to be adopted by most of your church, it needs to be simple. Remember, this is as much a giving solution for Boomers and Gen Xers as it is for Millennials. So pick an online giving solution that isn’t overly complicated and distracting in its layout.

5. It allows for recurring donations

Did you know that only 3–5 percent of churchgoers give regularly? Many of the remaining 95–97 percent still give, but they do so sporadically. One of the keys to improving this dismal trend lies in getting people to set themselves up to give automatically. Getting your church to embrace recurring giving will increase your church’s income overall and smooth out many of the seasonal dips in giving.

An online giving solution shouldn’t just allow for recurring giving, it should prioritize it.

6. It should come with an adoption plan

It doesn’t do you any good to invest in an online giving solution that no one is using. It puts you in a position of paying for a service you’re not using while maintaining the same giving level.

You need a plan to get people invested in this new giving platform.

Since their business model depends on churches using their product, the company offering you a giving platform should have a plan in place to get your church on board.

Pushpay Checks All These Boxes for Online Giving

If you’re seriously in the market for an online giving platform, Pushpay is a solution that delivers in every one of these areas.

• Pushpay’s Total Engagement Package—a customizable app for your church—comes bundled with Pushpay.
• Pushpay integrates seamlessly with Fellowship One, Arena, ACS, Shelby, Church Community Builder, Elvanto, and more.
• Pushpay offers Fastpay, which allows for 5-second giving.
• Pushpay allows for a fast giving experience because their interface is so easy to understand and interact with.
• Pushpay is invested in helping you turn givers into recurring givers. When someone in your church gives twice within 30 days through your Pushpay App, we send an email prompting them to sign up for recurring giving. This email will send them directly to their account to get started.
• Pushpay knows that when you succeed, we succeed. That’s why we not only have a plan to make your church’s adoption of their solution a success, but we also have a representative that will work directly with your church to make sure the transition goes smoothly.