Examining the church
giving landscape now
3 experts discuss lessons (already) learned during the
coronavirus pandemic, and where we’re likely headed from here
Marty Baker, D. Min.
Owner of SecureGive
Lead Pastor @ Stevens Creek
Church (Augusta, Ga.)
www.securegive.com
Aaron Dolton
Vice President of Marketing
Givelify
www.givelify.com
Amanda Lee
Co-founder
Infinity Giving
www.infinitygiving.com
What were some key tenets of the church giving landscape prior to the
coronavirus pandemic? How has it shifted since then?
Dolton: Prior to the pandemic, churches already knew that
online and mobile giving was vital to their financial wellbeing.
Many had already adopted digital tools to enhance the church going
and giving experience.
During the pandemic, we found that the use and dependency of
digital tools was accelerated. Unfortunately, churches that were slow
to adopt technology prior to the pandemic were left more financially
vulnerable than the early adopters. From a donor perspective, their
generosity continued to shine even through these unknown times.
In fact, 55% of them remained consistent or increased their online
and mobile giving amounts through the pandemic. Also, their giving
amounts grew, on average, from $102 to $112.50, a nearly 10% increase.
Not only did these generous donors give to their place of worship,
but our research at Givelify revealed that nearly 1 in 5 gave to multiple
places of worship during the pandemic. Keeping donors engaged
through technology and leveraging online and mobile giving has been
a key difference between churches that fared better than those who
lagged in adoption.
Lee: Our partner churches at Infinity Giving are really focused on
creating cultures of financial sustainability. So, pre-coronavirus, they
had those tools in place.
With the onset of the coronavirus, they're still interested in helping
people understand what God wants for them in this area of their lives,
but how they communicate this to people has changed a bit.
Pre- and mid-pandemic, we’ve found that when churches keep
this focus, funding follows. Their mindset isn’t We need dollars to keep
going; it’s This is what God has called us to. As a result, even amidst this
crisis, our partner churches are seeing significant increases in giving
of 25% to 36%.
We’ve also encouraged churches to simplify their tools and refine
their mindset. It’s not about what’s easiest and best for your church;
it’s about what’s easiest and best for the giver. If, for example, someone
watching online logs on to make a gift and sees a dropdown menu with
100 available funds, it can be confusing and overwhelming. That might
be the best pathway for your church — but not for that giver.
Baker: Leading up to the coronavirus outbreak, many churches had
grown complacent in teaching Biblical generosity. At that time, the
country was experiencing the best economy in recent history. During
22 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | JULY / AUG 2020