Before we answer the “What is eGiving?” question, let’s look at this case scenario in which many churches can relate. Imagine a person who has caught hold of the vision you cast, has overcome obstacles and fears, has connected the dots, and is ready to give. Now, imagine they don’t have cash or checks on them. And can’t seem to find a way to give by card at your church. That person will leave with every intention to give but might never get around to it.
It’s pretty simple. Businesses already know this. You have to let people conduct transactions however it’s convenient for them. That means providing every option available, front and center, whenever you talk about giving. Your church technology should include an electronic and online giving platform. And financial management tools to give your donors confidence in your ability to process and handle their giving.
eGiving is the abbreviation for electronic giving. It is an automatic funds transfer program that allows people to make contributions without writing checks or handling and exchanging cash and coins. Much like most businesses worldwide, your church should have the ability to accept electronic donations in any method donors choose, including kiosks, mobile apps, text-to-app, online, cash, and check.
Five benefits of eGiving:
- Saves time.
- Saves processing work.
- Simplifies your life.
- Helps the church stabilize its budget.
- Convenient tool for congregants.
Furthermore, did you know that churches and ministries that can encourage their givers to make contributions on an automatic payment system build a stronger stewardship program? How, you might ask? Glad you did. Recurring, automatic giving options are easier and less hassle for most donors. eGiving provides the church with steady and consistent donation revenue, especially during times of disruption. Whether it’s vacations or summer or holiday seasons, or even a pandemic, donors who have established an electronic recurring gift to the church don’t have to worry about being physically present at the church or function. Thus making dropping anything in the offering plate or mailing a post-dated check in anticipation of their absence a moot point.
BONUS
These eGiving platforms can also help you streamline donor data and integrate directly with your database. Regardless of your software system, the critical piece of your process is ensuring you have staff managing gift entries, address changes, and acknowledgments/receipting. Even back when we were using paper files and folders for donors, the most important factor was the staff who were committed to accuracy and quality control in our data. This secure, automatic process is easier and less work for the donor, and it’s a more consistent, reliable stream of donation revenue for the church.
Consistent giving fuels your ministry for the better. Your congregants need to be able to unleash their generosity in whatever ways are most convenient for them. That means you need a solution that offers online giving, text giving, checks and cash, and the ability to make pledges, set up recurring donations, and account management.
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Leigh Ann Shelley joined the ACST team in 2019 as a Product Marketing Manager, overseeing the launch and overall communication of key solutions to support the church’s needs. Prior to joining ACST, she spent several years in communications and graphic design roles, most notably as a Communications Director for a large church in Florence, SC, where she leveraged Realm to help solve key ministry challenges.
