There are so many wonderful options when it comes to online tithing. Before you pick one online tithing tool over all of the others, though, you’ll definitely need to do some research.
And before you can really start researching, you need to know the right questions to ask.
That’s why we’ve hand-picked the 15 most essential questions to ask before you pick the right online tithing tool for your church.
Questions to Ask Before You Get Started
How popular are different types of online tithing?
Is online tithing effective/engaging?
Is online tithing right for your church?
Can donors make donations on their phones or tablets?
What will you be using the tool for?
Pricing and Security Questions
How much does the average online tithing tool cost?
Do they work with all types of payment processors?
How safe/secure are online tithing platforms?
Are there deals for churches?
Questions Concerning Ease of Use
What’s the set-up process like? Will it require programming knowledge to get started?
Can you change the donation form to fit your needs?
Can you use online tithing for a specific church event?
Questions to Ask When You’re Close to Deciding
When is the best time to let your congregation know about online tithing?
What will your support needs be?
How do you get started with online tithing at your church?
Questions to Ask Before You Get Started
1. How popular are different types of online tithing?
In response to the way the world is changing, many churches are keeping up with the times by meeting parishioners where they are.
Churches aren’t getting rid of the traditional collection plates by any means. But they are offering multiple ways to tithe now.
You can imagine with the popularity of online giving in other sectors (online giving to nonprofits rose 13% last year) that online tithing is becoming undeniably more popular in church.
There are several ways to tithe now, including but not limited to:
Text-to-tithe
Crowdfunding (for special events or projects)
Tailored online donation forms
Email donation buttons
QR code promotions
And more!
All of these are great options, and they’re some of the most popular ways for people to tithe. There’s no wrong way to give, and the popularity of each tool really depends on your individual congregation.
2. Is online tithing effective/engaging?
Simply put, yes.
Online tithing can be extremely effective. Churches that have had online tithing as an option for a few years now report an average increase in tithing as high as 25% in a year.
It’s all about the way you promote your giving options. If you make online tithing a standard option at your church, chances are, it will be effective.
What it comes down to is: are you willing to put the effort into making online giving worth your church’s while? If the answer is yes, you’re going to have a highly successful online tithing experience.
Online tithing can be particularly effective for churches who choose to integrate mobile into their tithing options. Last year, 1 in 5 people admitted to using their phones during church.
If your congregation is already on their mobile devices, why not meet them where they are, with mobile tithing?
3. Is online tithing right for your church?
You may be asking yourself something along the lines of, “Is my church too small for online tithing?”
The truth is: online tithing works for churches of all sizes.
There’s no such thing as a church that’s too big, too small, too new, or too old to implement online tithing.
There are congregations all over the US who have already started seeing 15% increases in tithing overall since starting with online giving.
4. Can donors make donations on their phones or tablets?
When you’re searching for an online tithing tool, you want to be sure that it has a great mobile component.
It’s been proven that if a mobile transaction takes longer than 30 seconds, 85% of people will abandon the process. Don’t let frustrating and clunky transaction processes impede your church’s tithing.
As long as your online tithing portal works just as well on mobile as it does on a desktop, you should be golden.
91% of adults in America have smartphones within reach at all times. Tap into that accessible market by having an easy-to-use mobile giving site.
Having a mobile component to your church online tithing tool is bound to inspire even more giving!
5. What will you be using the tool for?
Online tithing technology can be used for general tithing as well as event-specific crowdfunding. Your church can make online tithing the standard for church giving, or it can be a more occasional activity. You can promote mobile giving every Sunday, or you can reserve online and mobile giving for special projects and events.
How you use it is up to you. The only thing you need to research and be sure of is: will the online tithing tool you pick do what you want it to do?
There are so many choices out there, it’s hard to imagine that you won’t be able to find a provider who can meet all of your needs and more. You just need to make sure you know what your needs are before you pick a platform.
Pricing and Security Questions
6. How much does the average online tithing tool cost?
It truly depends on the size of your church and which online tithing tool you end up choosing, but for the most part, online tithing tools should be reasonably priced. Often, the pricing will also depend on how many different components you choose for your online tithing.
If you want to keep it simple, it should be relatively inexpensive, but even if you want to go all out, you should be getting what you pay for!
On average, a solid online and/or mobile fundraising platform should start at around $50 per month.
That being said, sometimes you can find online fundraising platforms that will provide special discounts for churches and other faith-based organizations.
7. Do they work with all types of payment processors?
Some of the smaller platform providers don’t work with payment processors at all. Some of the larger platform providers are unable to help churches that are just starting out and don’t know anything about payment processing.
The best online giving platforms will meet your church right where your payment processing needs are. They should be willing to set you up with a payment processor–or let you do your own thing if you already have a system in place.
8. How safe/secure are online tithing platforms?
Depending on the provider you choose, your money and information are guaranteed to be safe, locked up tight in PCI-compliant vaults.
PCI-compliance means that the top industry standards for safety and security are met, ensuring that your information stays put and your money goes only where it’s meant to.
When you’re researching different platforms, make sure that you go with one that has all of its ducks in a row safety-wise.
For more on safety concerns, read this article.
9. Are there deals for churches?
Yes! You can absolutely find deals specifically tailored for churches. You just have to ask–or find the ones that offer special pricing for churches and faith-based organizations like yours.
In addition, there are several websites that offer free trials of their software so that you can be 100% sure of what you’re getting before you commit to buying anything.
Questions Concerning Ease of Use
10. What’s the set-up process like? Will it require programming knowledge to get started?
You’ll want to find the most user-friendly platform provider.
The best online tithing platform providers will walk you through their installation process step-by-step. And even once you’ve installed everything, they stick around for support whenever you need it. Often, their support and customer care is just a phone call or an email away.
You definitely shouldn’t need to learn how to program or code in order to get started with online tithing.
11. Can you change the donation form to fit your needs?
Online tithing forms should be completely customizable.
Find a platform that lets you play!
You can add your church’s logo. You can create a webpage that’s solely your church’s colors. Best of all, you can change it all again whenever you want. With the right platform, you can make your online tithing tool look just like…you.
Why is it important to have an online donation page that looks like you?
Imagine that you’re shopping online, and you find the perfect item: the exact thing you were looking for! But when you go to check out, suddenly, the payment portal no longer looks like the website where you found your item. Wouldn’t that raise red flags for you?
The same is true of a charitable giving site: it has to fit in seamlessly with the rest of your website, otherwise people will feel insecure donating through it.
12. Can you use online tithing for a specific church event?
You most definitely can. There are thousands of churches that use online giving portals for the sole purpose of raising funds for specific events.
In addition to using online giving portals, your church can also use crowdfunding thermometers.
Crowdfunding thermometers, which track the progress of any given fundraising campaign, are great tools for keeping track of the success of your church’s endeavors. Each time a donation is made, the crowdfunding thermometer fills in a little bit more, making it easy for your members to see how close you all are to your goals.
If you’re wanting to try this fun tool out, seek out an online giving platform provider that allows you to explore this option.
Questions for When You’re Ready to Decide
13. When is the best time to let your congregation know about online tithing?
The answer to this essential question really depends on the structure of your church’s services.
Typically, there’s time set aside for tithing in a Sunday service. That would be the ideal time to take 15-20 minutes to explain online tithing to your congregation.
If you don’t have that time built into your services, you can probably find time at a well-attended church event or in smaller weekly get-togethers, like Bible studies.
Some online giving platform providers will also provide your church with tools to help explain online giving to your members. Helpful posters, infographics, and step-by-step instructions really make all the difference.
14. What will your support needs be?
This is one of the most crucial questions to ask yourself before you invest in any sort of software or equipment of any kind for your church.
When it comes to online tithing specifically, though, you want to be sure that the level of support that you need will be met by the online tithing platform provider you choose.
You want to feel like you’ll be able to count on your provider if you run into any trouble at all.
You also want to feel like you won’t be running into that much trouble in the first place.
Regardless, it’s important to know that you’ve got back-up, should you ever need it.
15. How do you get started with online tithing at your church?
Getting started is the most exciting part of the process. How you start will depend entirely on all of the other factors discussed in this article.
This is where you get to be creative. You get to choose your own path and lead your congregation down it with you.
Now that you know what questions to ask (of yourself and of your platform provider), you’re ready to start looking into all of the different online giving tools out there.
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