Creating a Culture of Generosity by Power Trade Media

HELPING LEADERS BECOME

B E T T E R S T E WA R D S .

Creating a Culture of Generosity

Presented by: eChurchGiving & Pushpay

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y

churchexecutive.com

Table of Contents CHRONOLOGICALLY INCORRECT: A NEW APPROACH TO ENGAGING FIRST-TIME GIVERS

7 BEST PRACTICES FOR REACHING YOUR CHURCH’S BUDGET GOALS

As I read the Puget Sound Business Journal a few months ago, I stumbled across an article titled, “7 ways to make a real connection and realize a real return on that sponsorship.” The author made seven points about how corporate non-profit sponsors can motivate their employees to form a deeper bond with the cause they’re supporting.

I recently conducted a small Facebook test. Survey participants were asked to answer three questions about giving. Here’s what I found: • 96% of people consider themselves to be generous • 80% of those same people want to be more generous than they currently are • 92% feel held back by a lack of money These findings represent a strange tension between who we are, who we want to be, and our perceived lack that stands in the way.

I found the advice to be spot-on, so I decided to “steal” his seven points and rewrite them specifically for churches. By Derek Gillette

By Derek Gillette

THE TENSION BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND FAITH 6 A few months ago, we wrote an article: “How Pastors Can Lead Their Church to Greater Year-End Giving.” One of the reader’s comments stuck out to me:

KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR INBOX FOR FUTURE INSTALLMENTS ON HOW TO CREATE A CULTURE OF GENEROSITY, AS WELL RELEVANT SURVEY INSIGHTS.

The title of this article shows the sad state of many churches today … I want to vomit when I see articles like this. Yes, the tension between technology and faith is very real. By Derek Gillette

PROOF THAT ADDING MOBILE GIVING WON’T INCREASE YOUR CHURCH’S BUDGET 8 It seems like everywhere you turn, there’s another article or conference session being conducted around the importance of online and mobile giving for churches. These articles advise about the need to relate to the next generation and use the technology people are already using on a regular basis. But, how well does this giving technology actually work? And, is it worth the time and money to implement? By Derek Gillette

ONLY 42% OF CHURCHES ACCEPT ONLINE DONATIONS — NEW SURVEY RESULTS

Perhaps more startling, though, is that of those churches who do offer a digital option, they only see 11 percent to 13 percent of their total contributions come through that method, on average. To better understand these numbers, and what churches can do to improve upon them, I jumped on a call with Rick Dunham, president and CEO of Dunham + Company. By Derek Gillette

3 MYTHS PASTORS BELIEVE ABOUT CHURCH GIVING TECHNOLOGY

After working with and surveying more than 1,000 churches, we identified an amazing correlation between giving technology and church generosity. The problem was not so much with the passion as it was with the system. Using these conversations with pastors and our own survey data, we’ve compiled three myths that many believe about church giving technology. By Chris Heaslip

churchexecutive.com

C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

CREATING A CULTURE OF

Generosity Presented by: eChurchGiving & Pushpay

Chronologically A new approach to engaging first-time givers By Derek Gillette

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y

churchexecutive.com

The relationship between our treasure and our heart For those of us who’ve grown up in the Church, we’re intimately familiar with the instructions Jesus left us in regards to storing up our treasure. But I’d like to offer a spin on the story. 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV For where your treasure is … there your heart will be also. We think about this passage in chronological order. If our hearts are correct, and in submission to God’s will, then we will be obedient with where we put our treasures. In response to this belief, we craft sermons and campaigns around obedience, teaching about how much we are supposed to give and that God rewards a giving heart. There is nothing wrong with this approach — but how well is it working? Problem: engaging new and young givers Surveys show that 80 percent of church giving comes from 20 percent of the congregation. And, in another study, 80 percent of churches baptized less than two young people a year. Finally, in preparation for this article, I spoke with Dustin Hite, campus pastor for Geist Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN, and he expressed this sentiment to me: “As for connecting first-time folks / guests, that’s a challenge my friends and I have constantly struggled with and still don’t have the answer to.” What if we switched the order? Perhaps it’s time for a new view of the order of the parable. What if we switched from trying to connect with the heart first, to trying to remove the barriers to obedience? The original Greek text for the verse reads out in English like this: “Where indeed is the treasure of you, there will be also the heart of you.” The word “treasure” there speaks more towards a container than it does an object. It’s the greek word, “thésauros,” which is the root of the English word “thesaurus”, meaning a storehouse for synonyms — and in this case, for precious things. So when you read “treasure,” replace it with “storehouse for precious things.” Where your storehouse of precious things is, there your heart will be also. Or, in other words, where you have chosen to put your money — and where you’ve chosen to invest it — is where you heart will be stored and invested, as well. churchexecutive.com

A change on the inside We know that something happens inside of us when we give something of value away to a person in need. Even if our heart is in completely the wrong spot, and we have no intention of deeper relationship, there’s this connection that’s created. This happens because we have taken our money (something of worth) and invested it into a storehouse. In doing so, we’ve brought along a small piece of our heart, as well. Now they are stored together in this safe place for precious things. Living in Seattle, I see homeless individuals asking for money on a daily basis. But when I think back on all of these encounters, I can’t see any faces. I don’t remember any of them, except for one. I was at a softball game with some friends when a homeless woman approached us. She asked for money, and I was in a terrible mood. I countered her offer with one of my own: “I don’t have any money for you, but I’ll buy you a meal if you’re actually hungry.” I was thinking that this would send her along her way, but instead she readily accepted. It was her, I, my sister and a friend of ours at Shari’s, a 24-hour diner. The homeless woman ordered a full breakfast meal and a chocolate shake and ate the entire thing quite quickly. As I sat there, I felt something strange. Even though I wasn’t doing this out of generosity, I felt my heart drawn to the outcomes of this woman. I asked her where she was staying, what her name was, and told her that she was special and that Jesus loved her. And now, probably 10 years later, I still remember her face. A piece of my heart is still stored up and invested in her outcomes. This happened not because my heart was in the right place to begin with, but because there happened to be a Shari’s in the same parking lot and I happened to work there, and it was an easy dismissal for me to make the offer. The barriers to acting out in generosity were incredibly low. Once I gave, my heart quickly followed. The truth is that giving changed me, even in just a small way, for the better. Make the barriers as low as possible This brings us back to our original problem: How do we engage and connect with young and first-time givers in a way that builds a longterm relationship? The answer: Create an emphasis within your teaching, culture and operations around making that initial gift as easy as possible. Ask yourself these questions: #1: How easy is it for a church member to give for the first time? #2: Can a young millennial member use his or her phone to give in 30 seconds or less? #3: H ave you created an emphasis around giving for the first time, making the gift as easy as possible? As new members attend your church and decide if they will stay, will there be a portion of their hearts that is stored up and invested with your church? Derek Gillette is Communications Manager for eChurchGiving www.echurchgiving.com and Pushpay www.Pushpay.com in Seattle, WA..

C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

CREATING A CULTURE OF

Generosity

The tension between technology and faith There’s a tension that exists sometimes when you talk about the relationship between technology and the church. By Derek Gillette

A few months ago, we wrote an article: “How Pastors Can Lead Their Church to Greater Year-End Giving.” One of the reader’s comments stuck out to me: The title of this article shows the sad state of many churches today … I want to vomit when I see articles like this. This commenter continued: When a congregation is walking with the Lord and the Holy Spirit is moving in peoples [sic] hearts and transforming them to be more like Christ, you do not need to ever preach on giving or come up with gimmicks and ideas to increase peoples [sic] giving. They will give because they are moved by the spirit to give. Yes, the tension between technology and faith is very real.

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y

Digging deeper We wanted to dig more into the connection between faith, relevance and technology. So, we put together a short three-question study. We then administered this study to some of the 2,500 attendees of the Nazarene M15 Conference, held in Kansas City, MO, in February. Question 1: On a scale of 1-5, how relevant do you feel your church is to your local community? Church leaders, as a group, rated themselves a 3.5 out of 5 in terms of relevance. This answer speaks to a feeling that their churches are planted firmly in the middle between relevance and being out of touch. Many of the pastors made comments to the effect of, “We’re close, but we’re just not quite there yet.” Question 2: On a scale of 1-5, how big of a role do you feel technology plays in staying relevant? When we asked specifically about the role of technology, 78 percent of church leaders said they believe it plays a crucial or very important role in staying relevant. Question 3: What holds you back from being more relevant and effective in your local community: time, money, technology or people catching the vision? For this final question, we wanted to force church leaders to choose one of four potential lacks. We know that this is a bit of an impossible question, since they all play a part; not surprisingly, many pastors wanted to select all of the above. However, when forced to select one, 67 percent of church leaders chose people catching the vision. And an underwhelming 5 percent chose technology as their primary lack. churchexecutive.com

What does this tell us? While technology will never replace the importance of catching the vision, it plays a crucial role in helping churches stay relevant. Keeping this in mind, it starts to make sense why some would feel so negative about promoting giving techniques and technology. Technology — in place of a heart and vision connection — is never an acceptable substitute. In fact, when responding to our original commenter, this is what I said: What’s been really cool for [Pushpay] is to see churches who partner with us, and after going live, see the amount of new givers increase by as much as 33 percent. That’s huge! Now, were these people not obedient before, or was their heart not in the right place, or were they spiritually lacking? I’m not sure how to answer that, but I do know that they are giving faithfully now and the church as a whole is benefitting. How to preserve the balance When we talk to churches about giving technology, we use the phrase “Unlocking Generosity.” This refers back to a statistic we mentioned in the first part [ http://churchexecutive.com/archives/chronologically-incorrect ] of our Creating a Culture of Generosity series: 80 percent of people want to be more generous than they currently are, but 92 percent feel held back by a lack of money. The desire to be generous exists; it’s just waiting to be unlocked. I like to use the analogy of working out. We all know we need to do it. Most of us want to do it. But, the act of signing up for a gym membership, and then driving there multiple times a week — it’s something that very few of us do consistently. However, if a gym existed next door to my house and a personal trainer was the re waiting for me, working out would become a lot more of a regular habit. Some people — probably 20 percent of us — will exercise consistently, no matter the circumstances. For the remaining 80 percent, we might exercise from time to time, but getting that extra boost is what’s needed to develop a healthy and regular routine. We work hard to help churches engage those 80 percent of non-regular churchexecutive.com

Church leaders, as a group, rated themselves a 3.5 out of 5 in terms of relevance. This answer speaks to a feeling that their churches are planted firmly in the middle between relevance and being out of touch. Many of the pastors made comments to the effect of, “We’re close, but we’re just not quite there yet.” givers. In doing so, we know that the technology is just a tool to make the process easier, resulting in an outcome that gets us all excited: a changed heart and healthy habits that help transform us to be more like Christ. Derek Gillette is Communications Manager for eChurchGiving www.echurchgiving.com and Pushpay www.Pushpay.com in Seattle, WA.

C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

CREATING A CULTURE OF

Generosity

Proof that adding mobile giving won’t increase your church’s budget By Derek Gillette

A few months ago, I sat down for coffee with a young executive pastor. He was technologically savvy, ambitious and full of positivity as his church had seen triple-digit growth in the last few years. As soon as the topic of church software came up, his countenance changed. “We tried this church database company, but no one used it, so we dropped it,” the XP told me. “Then, we tried this accounting software, and it was a lot harder to implement than they told us, so we’re switching.” His point: It’s safer to do nothing than to risk making the wrong decision. Information overload It seems like everywhere you turn, there’s another article or conference session being conducted around the importance of online and mobile giving for churches. These articles advise about the need to relate to the next generation and use the technology people are already using on a regular basis. But, how well does this giving technology actually work? And, is it worth the time and money to implement? To get some data behind this, we partnered with Church Executive and put together a giving survey that asked pastors to disclose if their giving had gone up or down in the last quarter, which giving methods they used, and how concerned they were about their church’s giving levels. Surprisingly, we found almost no correlation between increased giving and offering a mobile way for people to give. Let me walk you through what we did find. 8

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y

churchexecutive.com

Of the 150 or so churches we surveyed, 32% offer giving through a mobile app. Their answers paralleled those of churches without a mobile giving option: • 96% of those with mobile giving said their giving last quarter increased or stayed the same. Those without mobile giving reported a 92% increase. • 56% of those with mobile giving said they were concerned or very concerned with their current giving levels, compared to 68% concern by those who did not. • Among those with mobile giving, 70% admitted that less than 30% of their total contributions came through online or mobile methods. These results make it very clear: Simply adding a mobile giving option to your church does not guarantee an increase in giving or a reduction in worry. So what’s the answer? Why do some churches see dramatic giving increases when adding a mobile option, while others see no change? To better understand this, we personally reviewed the digital giving of each of the 48 churches in our survey. After visiting each church’s website — and trying to give to each church as a first-time giver — we found: • 21% offered giving through multiple vendors • 53% required a login to give • Only 15% showed a text-to-give option on the giving page. And, the most shocking discovery: Of the 48 churches that said they offered giving through a mobile app, only 9% showed a mobile option on the giving page. Well-learned lessons Based on this data, and after consulting with thousands of churches to implement successful mobile giving, we advise that your church heed the following tenets before implementing mobile giving. 3 common mistakes 1) Clicking on “giving” takes people straight to the giving form, with no context or instructions. Besides just being impersonal, this practice doesn’t afford first-time givers any context about your church’s beliefs, the security of its online giving, or even how to give for the first time. Frederick Church of the Brethren (Frederick, MD) offers a great example of how a giving page should look and read: http://fcob.net/giving. 2) Including a lengthy fill-out form on the “guest” giving page. We know the importance of reducing barriers at church, and online giving should be no different. Don’t expect first-time givers to fill out lengthy forms that take more than three minutes to complete. 3) Asking people to sign up for ACH by printing a form and returning it to the church. Expecting this is not only incredibly insecure, but also time-consuming. 3 best practices 1) Having one digital giving vendor that offers multiple giving options. Using a different vendor for each giving option creates confusion — not only for givers, but also for your bookkeeper. Find a vendor that offers all-in-one giving through text, mobile, online and ACH. 2) Not requiring login or account creation for first-time givers. Remove barriers by only asking for minimal information to make that first gift: email address, name, phone number (optional), amount, fund and credit card information. Anything else is too much. 3) Having a clear strategy around growing three things: ACH, recurring gifts and first-time givers. This is the final, but most important, best practice. To accomplish it, be sure to partner with a vendor that offers education, talking points and instructional videos, and uses a system that encourages recurring gifts. Ask about these things when doing your research. Derek Gillette is Communications Manager for eChurchGiving http://www.echurchgiving.com/ and Pushpay https://pushpay.com/ in Seattle, WA.

churchexecutive.com

C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

CREATING A CULTURE OF

Generosity

Only 42% of churches accept online donations – new survey results By Derek Gillette

An interview with Rick Dunham, president and CEO of Dunham + Company This stat was one of the eye-opening revelations uncovered by Dunham + Company in their latest church survey. [ www.dunhamandcompany. com/2015/04/study-shows-churches-lag-behind-in-facilitating-onlinegiving ] Perhaps more startling though, is that of those churches who do offer a digital option, they only see 11 percent to 13 percent of their total contributions come through that method, on average. To better understand these numbers, and what churches can do to improve upon them, I jumped on a call with Rick Dunham, president and CEO of Dunham + Company. Q: What made you want to commission this study? We do quite a bit of work in the faith-based sector, including churches, and we wanted to get an objective feel about where the Church is in facilitating online giving. The movement to online giving is very customerdriven, and churches need to respond to changing consumer behavior, which favors a mobile-centered solution for just about everything. Q: Why do you think the 42-percent number is so low? This number was shockingly low for us. I expected to see it closer to 60 percent. But honestly, there’s a big gap between large and small churches in the study. Only 29 percent of smaller churches (less than 200 in weekly attendance) allow for online giving, while 70 percent of larger churches provide the option.

Q: Why do you think nonprofits have made the jump so much faster than churches? Funding sources. Both churches and nonprofits rely on charitable donations, but the way in which people give to churches uses the weekly, consistent, in-person interactions. Nonprofits don’t have the same amount of weekly contact, so the need for facilitating giving from a distance is different. Also, direct response efforts (mailings and emails) are a significant source for donations for many nonprofits, which means they have to create an online landing page to drive donations. Q: The 11-percent-of-total-giving is so low. Even with nonprofits, it’s only 6 percent. Why? You must remember that the 6 percent and 11 percent numbers are weighted averages. Large donation options, such as estate giving and planned giving, skew the percentage down, away from digital, for nonprofits. Regardless, these numbers are low for the Church. I’m not sure what the best practice number would be, but I did get an email in response to our survey from a gentleman who used to be in charge of online giving for his church. They grew their digital giving to 30 percent. So, numbers like these are possible when a digital giving strategy is properly executed.

Q: What are the major barriers for churches, especially those with fewer than 200 members? People are becoming more and more comfortable with online transactions, both social and commerce. The barrier for churches is simply the time and resources required to execute on this change in consumer behavior. When, as a church, you’ve had a tried-and-true method for years, it’s hard to want to change that overnight. 10

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y

churchexecutive.com

Q: Based on this information, what are three tips for churches looking to increase their digital giving above that 11-percent number? First, the church website must be optimized to facilitate online giving with as little friction as possible. For the churches that currently don’t have such an option, they need to create it. For those that do, they need to ensure it’s optimized. Our online scorecard can provide that direction: www.dunhamandcompany.com/onlinefundraisingscorecard. Mobile optimization is everything. Transactions are increasingly done through a mobile device and just having an online form is not enough. It needs to be mobile-friendly. From start to finish, make sure your digital giving process is easy to complete on a mobile device. What are you saying in the actual service itself? This is the secret tip that many pastors don’t think about. The best digital and traditional communication strategy will never take the place of that in-person appeal from the stage. Make it clear how to give digitally, with instructions onscreen. And, ensure you’re talking about the impact donations are making through the work of the church.

Q: What role do you think mobile-specific giving could play? For those churches not sure if digital giving is for them, take a peek around next time the giving portion of your service comes around. Notice the people scrambling to pull out their wallets, looking for a checkbook, indicating they’ve not thought in advance about giving, but they’re still motivated to contribute. Mobile giving puts a method in front of them which allows a spontaneous gift easily and simply.

Q: H ow important is the difference between online and mobile giving options? As I mentioned above, people prefer a mobile-friendly experience. Textto-give and mobile giving apps, such as Pushpay, are great options, and they need to be able to capture donor information along with receiving the gift. This is crucial, as it keeps donor records clean and makes it easy for the giver to donate again the next time. As long as it’s promoted in the service, once I’m set up, I’m more likely to give again.

Derek Gillette is the communications manager for Pushpay https://pushpay.com and eChurch. http://echurchgiving.com Pushpay is the 10-second mobile giving solution. Ninety-percent who download the app, give with it; 45 percent of gifts happen on days other than Sunday; and the average gift size is $176. Continue the conversation with Gillette on Twitter: https://twitter.com/derekgilletteco

churchexecutive.com

Q: What’s the one practical step a church who is considering digital giving should take next? I recommend three things. First, make sure you have a simple online giving form with the least friction possible, including the number of fields, login requirements, etc. Then, make sure it’s mobile-optimized, meaning specifically formatted to be filled out on a phone or tablet. Finally, make sure you’re effectively communicating that to your audience.

C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

myths pastors believe about church giving technology By Chris Heaslip

CHURCH EXECUTIVE â&#x20AC;˘ C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y

churchexecutive.com

Imagine a church experience where the pastor stands before the congregation, casting a vision. There’s a family in need. A building needs repairs. A project requires a bit more funding. All the things that your church loves to get behind because it makes a huge difference in the community. Giving information is shared on the screen in the form of a text-engagement code or custom URL, and immediately members begin to donate through their phones in as little as 10 seconds. As they walk out of the service, they can donate at kiosks in the foyer, where trained staff are present to answer any questions. In addition, when they arrive home, they have the ability to give just as easily whenever they are inspired during the week. It could be as they walk the dog, have their morning devotions, or attend a small group. The process is simple, easy to understand, and uniform across all platforms. The best part is that administrators, in real time, can see donations and easily get information into your church database. Unfortunately, an experience like this is still the exception rather than the norm.

fter working with and surveying more than 1,000 churches, we identified an amazing correlation between giving technology and church generosity. The problem was not so much with the passion as it was with the system. Using these conversations with pastors and our own survey data, we’ve compiled three myths that many believe about church giving technology. Our hope with sharing these is that they might inspire you to have a conversation with your church team about your own giving practices. Myth #1: The cause can overcome the hurdles As much as we want to do the right thing, there are many times when we just don’t. It’s not for lack of desire; it’s more about how easy the bad option was for us to take. As an example, I’ve known for years that I need to start eating healthier. I think about it all the time. I do the research. But, when I’m in the middle of a busy week, I still find myself reaching for a Red Bull. I know that a healthy smoothie would achieve the same energy boost effect for me, but making a smoothie is so much work. I have to get out the blender, find a knife, cut the fruit, portion things correctly — oh my goodness, I’m getting tired just thinking about it. But, if someone set a smoothie down in front of me, would I drink it over a Red Bull? Absolutely. The same principle applies to giving technology. We can have the greatest cause in the world, but if giving is too difficult, most people won’t make it all the way to the “submit payment” option. In fact, our research shows that up to 85 percent of mobile users will abandon a donation if the giving process takes longer than 30 seconds. For online forms, with every click, you lose 10 percent of your potential givers. How many seconds does your giving process take? How many clicks are involved? Do givers have to refill all the fields each time (name, address, credit card, etc.), or does your form pre-fill those? Increase generosity by removing the hurdles. In other words, put the smoothie down right in front of them. churchexecutive.com

Myth #2: People are too scared to regularly send money using their phones According to Pew Research, 91 percent of the world’s population has a cell phone. That’s a crazy number. And in the United States, 56 percent of cell phone users have a smartphone, with that number increasing exponentially as you look at Americans 34 and younger. MIT Technology Review recently reported, “Smartphones are spreading faster than any technology in human history.” How many in your congregation now use their phone or tablet in place of a paper Bible? How many use their phone to check email immediately following the service? Conducting a majority of our social and business interactions on mobile devices has become commonplace. It’s time to stop viewing mobile devices as a distraction and instead look at them as an opportunity.

“I know that a healthy smoothie would achieve the same energy boost effect for me [as a Red Bull], but making a smoothie is so much work. I have to get out the blender, find a knife, cut the fruit, portion things correctly — oh my goodness, I’m getting tired just thinking about it. But, if someone set a smoothie down in front of me, would I drink it over a Red Bull? Absolutely. The same principle applies to giving technology.” We live in a society where we use mobile phones for a large portion of simple online transactions, including purchasing music on iTunes, funding projects on Kickstarter, or giving by text to disaster relief causes. The fear of mobile payments is gone for most people; instead, it has moved to the far end of the spectrum, where they prefer to use their phone simply because of the speed and ease. Does your church currently offer a mobile giving solution? Can members contribute by text message? We even recommend visiting your own church’s website on your phone, and try to navigate through the giving process. How many times did you have to pinch and zoom? How frustrated did you get? How much time did it take to enter in all those credit card numbers? Increase generosity by embracing the smartphone rather than avoiding it. Myth #3: Your administrative team can just “make it work” Probably the biggest mistake we’ve seen when working with churches is the piece-by-piece approach. They understand they need new giving technology, so they go out and secure an online giving form. But then, members of the congregation say how much they would love to be able to text and give. So the church quickly secures a text vendor. Great! Right? While it might be great for the end user, things are not always so rosy when we work our way back to the desks of the administrative team. Decisions that are made piece by piece can often neglect the amount of work that is required on the backend. Not even the most dedicated and faithful bookkeeper (as hard as he or she tries) can keep these scattered databases accurate — let alone other important elements, such as passwords and training documents. Chris Heaslip is CEO of Pushpay and eChurch. Pushpay is the 10-second mobile giving solution. Ninety-percent who download the app, give with it; 45 percent of gifts happen on days other than Sunday; and the average gift size is $176. Continue the conversation with Heaslip on Twitter: @ChrisHeaslip.

C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

best practices for reaching your church’s budget goals By Derek Gillette

I’m an avid fan of stealing other people’s content and making it my own. This is how great artists make their living. Find something amazing, get inspired, and then repurpose the work and make it your own. To take a piece of Scripture slightly out of context: “There are no new ideas under the sun.” (Eccl. 1:9) As I read the Puget Sound Business Journal a few months ago — in print, I might add — I stumbled across an article titled, “7 ways to make a real connection and realize a real return on that sponsorship.” The author, Adam Worchester, made seven points about how corporate non-profit sponsors can motivate their employees to form a deeper bond with the cause they’re supporting. I found the advice to be spot-on, so I decided to “steal” Worchester’s seven points and rewrite them specifically for churches. What follows are the seven best practices for reaching your church’s budget goals.

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y

churchexecutive.com

“When someone gives for the first time, what do the next 100 days look like for that individual? What follow-up protocols are in place? Is there an automated

email workflow? Does it trigger

a phone call from a member of your leadership team?” #1: Invest more than money We’ve found that giving often is the first act a person will take once he or she has decided they’re ready to be more involved in your church. How easy is it to use a mobile phone and give to your church for the first time? And then, how is your church making a dedicated effort to view this first gift as a raised hand? Lay out the logical next step for a person to go deeper. Perhaps it’s a small group, volunteering opportunity, or just a shared meal / coffee with the pastor. #2: Develop a vision Non-profit groups implicitly understand the importance of casting a vision. Rather than relying on obedience, they paint a picture and tell a story. In fact, keeping the impact front-and-center is now a best practice used by many companies — and churches can do the same. It involves recognizing a need in the world, understanding that money is required to meet the need, and finding a model to simultaneously create funding and address it. #3: Stay in touch I like to call this category, “the First 100 Days.” When someone gives for the first time, what do the next 100 days look like for that individual? What follow-up protocols are in place? Is there an automated email workflow? Does it trigger a phone call from a member of your leadership team? According to fundraising experts Pursuant, first-time donors who get a personal thank-you within 48 hours are four times more likely to give a second gift. #4: Review performance We all know that one of the toughest things to create in church is consistent participation, especially for volunteer events. The same could be said for raising money to support special campaigns — a building fund, new ministry support, or a large mission’s fundraising night, for example. Does your church have a mandatory review process after such events are completed? What worked and what didn’t? What did people get most excited about? What feedback was collected, and how do we incorporate that for next time? Church databases can help you track this information.

churchexecutive.com

#5: Review priorities Perhaps your church, for 20 years, has operated a Tuesday morning homeless ministry. But three years ago, the person who had the heart for the program left the church. Is this ministry still something your church is passionate about running? Asking these honest and hard questions from time to time keeps your church on track and in-sync with the heart of your congregation. This also keeps your church innovating rather than falling stagnant. We applied this principle to our own giving software, recently launching a feature called Fastpay, which cuts the giving time down from 10 seconds to five. To learn more, visit: youtube.com/ watch?v=myRKmD1KMuo&feature=youtu.be. #6: Analyze spending Worchester queries in the original article: “Is your sponsorship money being used in the most efficient ways?” This is an important question; churches need to operate with the same introspection. How much are we paying for donation-processing? How timeconsuming is our weekly reconciliation? Is it eating up staff resources which could be spent in other ways? Also, how many contributions are we losing by not giving people an easy way to give from their mobile phones? (Seriously, you guys — this is a huge one.) #7: Be creative There are three values younger-generation donors look for: transparency, authenticity and social justice. What creative ways has your church tapped into those sentiments? Has your pastor talked from the stage about the personal causes he or she supports? Do you give updates on the impact of the money that’s been given to date? Are you using technology — such as the eChurch app — to send push notifications about current needs? Don’t be afraid to step outside the box and create an opportunity for conversation to happen. Derek Gillette is the communications manager for Pushpay [ https:// pushpay.com ] and eChurch. [ http://echurchgiving.com ], the 10-second mobile giving solution. Ninety-percent who download the app, give with it; 45 percent of gifts happen on days other than Sunday; and the average gift size is $176. Continue the conversation with Gillette on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ derekgilletteco. C R E A T I N G A C U LT U R E O F G E N E R O S I T Y • CHURCH EXECUTIVE