Digital giving has become increasingly crucial for churches in recent years. In today's landscape, offering an online giving option is as important (if not more) as accepting cash offerings.
Your ministry may already have some form of digital giving (ex. a giving page on your website, text-to-give, etc.), however, what worked in the past may not be the ideal solution for your church in 2024.
Evaluating your current digital giving solution is essential, and what better time to do it than now? This ensures that your existing provider meets your current and future needs.
If you’re considering a new digital giving platform, it’s vital to equip yourself with the necessary knowledge and ask the right questions before deciding on your church's new digital giving solution.
6 Important Questions to Ask
1. How much are you paying in online processing fees?
It's essential to have clarity about the online processing fees you incur. Pricing can sometimes be misleading, and what initially appears affordable can quickly become impractical.
Hidden processing fees have the potential to nullify a seemingly low rate, making it vital to consider the monthly processing fees before committing to a new plan.
However, there are ways to optimize your fee structure and save money. One such method is leveraging ACH payments, which typically have lower fees. By switching to a platform that accepts ACH and facilitates bank giving, you can take advantage of these reduced costs and maximize your resources.
2. Does your team have access to success coaches?
Success coaches are online giving professionals trained to provide invaluable support and guidance to churches and ministries. These coaches provide personalized training and experience, ongoing support, and troubleshooting.
Not only that, but they can provide strategic planning and growth strategies for your church. These coaches provide personalized training to improve your giving strategy and foster generosity within your church. With top-notch support, they’re readily available to answer questions and help your church make the most of the platform's church-specific features.
3. What features does your digital giving solution offer?
When considering a digital giving solution for your church, it’s crucial to evaluate whether you have access to essential features like text giving and a robust mobile app.
Many giving solutions offer these features at an additional cost, leading to unexpected expenses. It's important to prioritize the features that are integral to your church's success and consider the overall cost, including any add-on fees.
Ensure the solution you choose aligns with your needs and provides a valuable experience without straining your budget.
4. Does all of your software work together seamlessly?
Chances are, digital giving isn’t the only thing on your plate. As a church, you’re also working to stay connected with people, reach your community, and keep everyone up to date which means you’re utilizing ChMS, church website software, live streaming, and more.
If these software solutions aren’t working together you may end up spending more time than needed finding workarounds, performing double entries, and managing multiple software solutions at the same time.
This is why a single-platform churchOPS solution is ideal.
5. How helpful is your digital giving tool’s customer support team?
Even with the best digital giving tool, sooner or later chances are you’ll need help. When that happens, how available is the customer support team? Do they see you as more than just another customer?
Are they willing to go above and beyond to answer questions and come up with a solution? These are important questions to ask as you evaluate your online giving solution.
At Ministry Brands, our customer support team truly strives to serve each and every client. Kelley Austin, Director of Finance at New Covenant Church, can testify to the help they provide. You can read her story here, but she goes as far as to say, “The customer support makes it all worth it. I feel like I’m friends with my rep now!”
Don’t settle for anything less.
6. Can donors give confidently, easily, and securely?
Lastly, when people give online to your church it’s crucial the process is easy and the donations are secure. If there are distractions or doubts oftentimes people will give up and/or fail to give at all. Take a close look at your platform to see where hangups and hardships might occur.
Why Ministry Brands?
Not only can you easily create custom giving pages and custom giving forms with Ministry Brands Amplify, but we also go above and beyond to protect your data by meeting the highest standards for security.
Plus, with the recent launch of DonorShield, donors can now have an uninterrupted donation experience. DonorShield eliminates duplicate payments and supports transaction queuing for outages creating a seamless experience so donors can give easily and with confidence.
By selecting a digital giving solution like Ministry Brands Amplify, you can access a wide range of essential features without incurring additional costs.
This empowers your church to leverage cutting-edge tools for communication, streamlined giving, and enhanced engagement, all while staying within your budget.
Schedule a Giving "Checkup"
If you haven't assessed your digital giving system recently or if any of the above questions raised concerns, it’s time for a giving "checkup."
Start by evaluating what tools and features your ministry needs to achieve its goals in 2024 and beyond. Ministry Brands is here to help you make informed decisions and ensure your church is well-prepared for the future. Start your free trial today and embrace the power of digital giving.
