Keep your offertory strong with a few online giving tips

Various times of the year pews are chock full of people, and other times we find a little more elbow room than expected. Online giving is an excellent way to promote stewardship from anywhere. It enables those away to still let their gifts be present when they are not.

So what can you do to keep people engaged in giving? Here are some ideas to help:
 

1

Elevate your donation page

Your donation page is where all your donors go to send a gift. So engage visitors with a welcoming message expressing gratitude, details of the need, an invitation to make their gift recurring, and images or custom buttons which link to other pages for second and special collection giving.

2

Make the invitations!

Remind your parish about eCatholic Donations service, and how to easily get started with recurring gifts by making one simple transaction. Since families may already be away, utilize a parish e-bulletin or newsletter announcement to bring your invitation to everyone.
 

3

Create a “digital offertory”

After you’ve built your donation page, be sure your generous gift-givers can reach it! In addition to a donate button on your homepage, add a button on your Mass Times or Live Streaming pages. Wherever you list Mass schedules or updates, add a link that invites readers to submit their weekly offering then and there. When you include an offertory link near your live stream or Mass module, its as if the offertory basket is right there when people are thinking about it.

 

4

Communicate with recurring givers

When beginning a recurring gift, people may neglect those envelopes that can remind them of other collections. Create an email list for monthly reminders about parish campaigns, and second and special collections. Be sure to link to your donation page in the email, where people can find more information and immediately give one-time gifts if they wish. Always include another link at the bottom for accessing their recurring gift accounts. This way donors know where to make changes to their gift instead of “setting and forgetting” forever.

5

Share the result

We tend to always remember the announcements that ask for gifts, but what about communicating the result of those gifts? For example, is your parish sponsoring a medical mission trip? How much medicine and goods were able to be purchased after the sponsorship ends? Are you collecting money to repair the sanctuary roof? What’s left to complete the effort? This news allows individuals to see how their gifts are put to use, and even inspire them to give again in the future.

Remember, your parish offertory is about so much more than money.

Any opportunity to engage your parishioners with more than just a link or a bland form is an opportunity to change the way we all think about tithing. An inspiring story or compelling image may be exactly what prompts your parishioners to sign up for online giving, which is beneficial for all.