Five Tips to Increase Online Tithing

By now, many churches are aware that making it possible for members to tithe online is an essential tool for ministry. With the Internet now influencing more than 65 percent of donors before they give -- whether online or offline (Kintera/Luth Non-Profit Trend Report, 2005) -- churches can not only make it more convenient for people to give, they can also reduce administrative time and increase regularity of giving. Here are five simple tips to assist your church in increasing online tithing:

1) Make it easy to give. Put your giving button or link on your home page so that people can find it easily. If donors have to hunt to find the giving page on your Web site, the chances of them giving rapidly decreases.

2) Offer multiple payment options. People love to have options. By offering the ability to take payments by ACH or online checks, debit, and credit cards (the most popular option for online giving), you’ll be sure your donors find the payment option that best meets their needs.

3) Provide recurring giving options. There are many benefits to allowing donors to set up their own regular giving online. First and foremost, donors can set up giving that is predictable and consistent, helping them to be more faithful in their monthly tithing. For some areas of the country that have large migrant populations, such as Florida and New York, online giving can make it possible to continue to give to church even in times of absence. It also makes it possible to maintain giving levels during the summer when many people are on vacation and not able to donate in person.

4) Allow donors to manage their own recurring giving. Many churches currently have the ability to set up recurring payments through ACH drafts, but there is a lot of hassle involved for both the church and the donor with this type of bank draft. It can be not only inconvenient, but embarrassing to have to call the church to change or stop a payment. With the right online donation software, churches can provide their donors with the ability to manage their giving and have total control over how, when and how frequently they give. Finding a solution that sends auto reminders to donors before the recurring payments occur can be helpful; the donor can then confirm the amount, increase or decrease the payment amount, or change the draft date with ease.

5) Use online giving technology that interfaces seamlessly with your Web site. It’s important to find an online giving provider that can customize the look and feel of your church’s giving page so that it matches your Web site and doesn’t appear to be supplied by another company. By integrating with your Web site seamlessly, the online donation page should make donors feel extremely comfortable and look just like their church’s Web site and not like someone else’s.

Tim Whitehorn is the founder and CEO of ServiceU Corp. Serving churches since 1999, ServiceU (www.serviceu.com) is a leader in online event management software used by churches, schools, ministries and other nonprofit organizations. ServiceU’s product line includes three core products: EventU provides a way to easily manage event scheduling and registration; TransactU allows organizations to accept online payments and donations. For more information, contact info@serviceu.com or 888.638.7439.