Approximately two-thirds of church giving happens on a day other than Sunday.² Thanks to flexible online giving options, supporters are no longer required to attend a community gathering to donate.
Make online giving a priority at your faith-based organization. After all, finding a way to capture the donations of up to 20% of people who attend worship services online is critical.³
It’s also critical to offer an online giving option that’s easy to access from church fundraisers nonprofit website or app during services or anytime a donor feels inspired to give. Fundraising platforms like Classy make church fundraisers fundraising easier than ever.
- Try New Payment Options
Almost half of all faith-based donations come from credit cards.⁴ However, these donations church fundraisers come from various sources, including your website, or a mobile app.
Align with donor preferences by offering your congregation diversified payment options, including PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, ACH bank transfer, and cryptocurrency donations.
Although half of these organizations’ donations come through credit cards, there are still other means of donations, including cash, checks, and church fundraisers gifts, like stock donations or donor-advised funds. Allow your congregation the option to make these contributions to prevent them from abandoning the giving experience altogether.
Catholic Answers uses Classy and Rally Corp’s text-to-donate solution to communicate with supporters and grow individual giving, resulting in an 80% conversion rate. Plus, during their first incorporation of this technology, they surpassed their Giving Tuesday goals by 123%.
The Salvation Army also got church fundraisers with their payment options, leading to a 246% increase in mobile donation revenue when they implemented Classy Pay on their donation pages.
- Leverage QR codes
How do you combine the impact of in-person interactions with the convenience of online giving? Drop some QR codes around your building. Mobile shopping trends indicate that QR codes help drive immediate action.
These quick-action, scannable graphics could appear on your worship bulletin, the backs of pews, wall posters, or all of the above. Be sure to church fundraisers them visible but not an unnecessary distraction.
The goal is to have a QR code readily available when needed but not be an eyesore. QR codes should link directly to your donation site or a multilink giving page. This makes it easy for people to navigate your calls to action (CTAs) from any device.
- Sell Holiday Cards
There are plenty of relevant holidays within the calendar, including Eid al-Fitr, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Rosh Hashanah. Even a few nonreligious holidays, like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Valentine’s Day, can rally your congregation to support your organization.
First, design and sell holiday cards people can purchase and give to loved ones. You church fundraisers even include a thoughtful scripture verse or message inside. That way, you provide special holiday gifts while allowing people to give back.
Then, ensure the design and print quality meet people’s standards. Remember, every detail counts.
Lastly, distribute them at least a few weeks before each holiday to give people more time to hand out their gifts to friends and family. You can also include donation e-cards in your promotional efforts. Providing this option is the perfect addition to engaging online supporters.
- Honor and Memorial Gifts
Allow church members to contribute in honor or memory of a loved one. You can church fundraisers these appeals with holidays like Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, or Veterans Day, or keep them separate as an opportunity to honor the people you love outside the busy holiday season. These are also appropriate for graduating seniors at the end of spring.
In most cases, supporters will pay for flowers displayed in the building and their loved one’s name included in your worship bulletin or program. The point of these donations is not only to raise funds but also to help recognize special people within your community.
Just be sure your fundraising platform offers easy-to-navigate donor management tools to help you keep tabs on these supporters and follow up with future appeals.
- Encourage Recurring Giving
Only 15% of churchgoers donate monthly (or more frequently), but that small group accounts for 51% of church-giving dollars.2 In other words, small recurring donations add up over time, thanks to the commitment of loyal supporters. Encourage recurring donations by reminding people they can set up a subscription gift at the amount and cadence they choose. Consider including this CTA in your nonprofit newsletter or during your service.
A great example of turning one-off donations into long-time donors is Denver Rescue Mission,which uses Classy to power its fundraising efforts. The team launched a campaign called “Double Your First Three Months of Giving,” and in less than one month, 125 donors made new or upgraded monthly donations.