There are many hurdles ministries encounter when they wish to promote or allow electronic or web-based giving options. A few of them are cost-effectiveness, safety, loss of personal interaction, and the vast unknown.
1. Cost-effectiveness
This is certainly an understandable concern. After all, if you’re spending more money managing your ministry’s giving than you’re seeing it increase as a result of a new system, you’re not being a good steward of the finances God has provided and donors have sacrificially given. However, the track record that Egiving.com has seen puts this argument to rest: Not only do the ministries that use Egiving.com’s tools retain a vast majority of their giver base over a 5-year timeframe, but they typically see an increase in giving, as well. Part of that increase is due to additional guidance from Egiving.com staff regarding integrating giving platforms into event registrations and other web-based opportunities. In addition to giver retention and funding increase, ministries benefit by being able to re-assign staff who once managed more manual giving platforms.
2. Safety
This concern is a big one. While many people fear identity theft, ministries often fear embezzlement of funds by paid and volunteer staff or theft of documents by outsiders. Since the money isn’t touched by any staff members in your ministry, and your givers’ financial records are stored and backed up securely, your organization is far safer than it would be if it continued to handle funding manually on its own. In fact, the processors used by Egiving.com meet all modern security regulations and surpass many banks’ standards of security.
3. Loss of Personal Interaction
With Egiving Solutions, ministries can actually increase their interactions with their givers, rather than seeing it diminish. If a donor has a question about the process, that person will still contact your staff, not Egiving.com’s staff or partner groups. Depending on your ministry’s preferences, recurring and online accounts can be set up in a way that requires donors to contact you in order to make any changes, as well, giving your staff an opportunity to thank them and engage in real-time interaction that parachurch organizations seldom have. Additional communication can easily be set up through regular e-mails, as well.
4. The Unknown
Ultimately, many people who fear electronic giving simply aren’t familiar with how it will work or what responsibilities a ministry will have once it adopts such a system. Egiving.com can help put those fears to rest by providing a personal approach that includes thorough training and ongoing American support by believers who want to see your ministry succeed in furthering the Kingdom. For those who aren’t sure this direction makes sense for their ministry, initial phone consultation is available in order to help your ministry’s leadership understand the ins and outs of electronic giving.
By using a ministry partner such as Egiving.com, your ministry can seamlessly adapt to continuing trends in a way that promotes good stewardship and, most importantly, allows your ministry to focus on its main goal: people.
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