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Paper and eGiving

eGiving is generally associated with the digital world — that “e” stands for electronic, after all. But did you know what an important role paper plays in the most successful eGiving programs?

At Faith Direct, members using paper forms make up 20% of our new enrollments. Yes, that means 1 out of 5 members who elect to support their churches through eGiving don’t actually go “online” to do so.

Paper enrollment materials are especially popular among older members who use eGiving — a large demographic for most any program.

Forty-one percent of Faith Direct enrollees are ages 60 to 74 — and another 17% are 75 or older. That’s almost 60% of eGiving users over the age of 60!

Many older individuals like the ease and efficiency of eGiving, but aren’t always comfortable putting their personal information into a website or computer. Some prefer paper enrollment forms so it is important to make this option available.

Here’s how your eGiving program should provide access to the paper forms members want:

• Include enrollment forms in any letters you send to members regarding your eGiving program.
• Place enrollment forms in your pews so members can fill them out after Mass.
• Keep enrollment forms in your church office so people can pick them up there.
• Give members the option of downloading enrollment forms from your website so they can print them, fill them out and turn them in. Some online users prefer this method!

Faith Direct strongly urges churches to consider the security requirements of receiving paper enrollment forms with secure financial information. Your eGiving program should exclude the church office from having to accept or store any paper enrollment forms.

When your members have access to the paper enrollment options they want, participation in your eGiving program will be higher — and your church will have more resources to do God’s work. Your church family and your community will be thankful!

How secure is your eGiving program?

How would you feel if your credit card number was left sitting out on a desk in an unlocked office, for anyone to see… or if your checking account information was stored in an unprotected computer file that anybody could access?

Such a risky scenario is NOT what you want for your church’s eGiving program.

And with stories about identity theft and security breaches making headlines each week, your members will want to be 100% sure that any information they include on any paperwork for your church’s eGiving program will be kept secure.

Here are five questions to ask yourself about how your church is ensuring the security of your eGiving program:

1. Is your church PCI DSS compliant? PCI DSS stands for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard – a comprehensive set of requirements, accepted by all major payment brands, designed to protect payment account data security. If your church is processing credit card transactions, you are required to be PCI compliant. (You can learn more at pcisecuritystandards.)

2. Are you strictly limiting who can handle sensitive data? Credit card or bank account numbers shouldn’t be handled by anyone who is not directly involved with administering your eGiving program. Administrators of your program should be subjected to a background check and complete comprehensive security training before they access any data.

3. Are you restricting physical access to your members’ personal information? Any data you receive must be kept on a secure server in password-protected files accessible only to authorized users. Any paper forms with your members’ account information must be kept under lock-and-key in a secure area – and papers should be destroyed as soon as payment information has been entered by your eGiving staff.

4. Are you prepared for a worst-case scenario? If a security incident arises with your eGiving program – if data is accessed by an unauthorized user, for example, or if your network is compromised – you need to have a rapid response plan in place so you can immediately alert your members to the problem.

5. Does your church practice the basics of safe computing? There are many steps you can take to increase your program’s security. Your antivirus program must be up-to-date, and you should install all software security updates. There should be one computer in your office dedicated to accessing banking and other financial websites. Everyone who accesses financial information should have a unique username and password – and all passwords should be strong, with a mix of letters, numbers and symbols.

If you answered NO to any of these questions, your best strategy could be to outsource your eGiving program to a reputable provider. Security requirements for handling sensitive data are complex – it’s often too great a task for any individual church to manage.

One Pastor’s Experience with eGiving

Thinking about starting an eGiving program but not sure if your church will respond? Rev. Walter Lewis, the pastor at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Powhatan County, Virginia, had the same concern.

Faith Direct spoke with him recently about why he was hesitant to launch an eGiving program, and why he’s glad his church decided to give it a try:

One Pastor’s Experience with eGiving

How much had you heard about eGiving before starting a program?
I had heard quite a bit about eGiving – however, I think it is fair to say I had a fairly limited understanding of what eGiving really meant. For me, I had already encouraged members to participate in eGiving, through their banks. I was reluctant to start a program because these attempts to encourage members did not yield good results.

Why did you choose an eGiving provider, rather than attempt to manage your program in-house as some churches do?
We did not have the capacity, nor do I think most churches have, to effectively promote and administer something like this. Security was one of our major concerns. Our Finance Council, in their wisdom and during our discernment, correctly recognized that our church should not be handling sensitive financial information. Why would my or any other church want to assume that liability?

Is there one component that you believe is especially critical to the success of a new eGiving program?
It is clear to me how critically important a promotional plan is to early success. While as Pastor I was willing to show my support by signing up myself, our church also used promotional mailing, email, Mass announcements and talking points to get the word out. This is why we have done so well – members responded because they were informed.

What would you say is the best measure of an eGiving program’s performance?
Enrollment! I am surprised more churches don’t recognize that successful eGiving is defined based on the number of members who use it.

Has eGiving had any impact on your regular offertory?
There is no question eGiving has made a positive impact on our weekly offertory. The automatic recurring nature of it results in an offertory increase while giving members a more convenient way of donating. Because of the high number of families that have enrolled at my church, this program provides consistent offertory even if members are out of town.

What does the future of eGiving look like for SJN? For the Church?
While I just started a real eGiving program 6 months ago, I see a point very soon that this new way of giving becomes the norm. We are a small rural church outside of Richmond yet in just 6 months nearly 50 percent of our donating households have signed up. If it can work here, it can work everywhere.

Summer’s Impact on Offertory

Has your church seen a decline in offertory since summer started? Most churches do. When members miss Sunday Mass because they are “on the road” for vacations, family reunions and other summer activities, they’re not able to put a check in the offertory basket – leaving your Sunday collection looking like this:

eGiving can help your church overcome the “Summertime Blues”

eGiving lets members plan their gifts in advance, so the church can count on their support even if they’re out of town for a weekend. That means a more consistent offertory that will help your church better plan for your ministries.

Here’s what you need to do right now to avoid another summer slump…

• The first step is to select an eGiving program for your church, if you haven’t already. If your church has delayed implementing a program, let any decline in offertory you’ve seen this summer inspire you to get started.
• Next, whether you have an eGiving program or are just starting it, you must have a coordinated marketing plan that encourages church families to sign up. Explain how it simplifies giving, and lets them be part of helping your church ministries even when they’re out of town on a Sunday. The more families sign up, the fewer downturns your monthly offertory will suffer when people are away for holidays and summer vacations.

Remember: During Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year many people might be out of town visiting family – so RIGHT NOW is the time to launch and promote your eGiving program to avoid another drop in offertory.

5 Pillars of eGiving

As successful eGiving evolves for churches, having an eGiving program involves much more than just offering members a way to give their donations electronically. Your eGiving provider or church must be prepared to handle a number of bookkeeping and customer service responsibilities that become the pillars of your program’s success.

Administrative Pillars

Accounting: There are many “behind the scenes” details that must be handled to keep your program running smoothly. First, every transaction has to be reconciled so that all donations are accounted for and properly recorded in your census software. This is perhaps the most important part of managing an eGiving program, and there is no room for error.

Donation Maintenance: There are also administrative tasks that require member interaction. These include pending payment reminders, expiring credit card notifications, and managing declined donations. It’s important to alert individuals immediately when a donation is declined, and work with them to get the payment information updated. After that, the donation must be reprocessed, so that the person will be back into their normal giving routine.

Customer Service Pillars

Program Knowledge: Financial matters can be intimidating, and when questions arise members appreciate a quick, helpful response – whether it’s helping someone update their gift amounts or change their payment information.

Account Management: Most members expect to be able to manage their church donations much as they do their other donations and payments. This includes a robust online system and paper forms or over the phone for those members that are less comfortable with the internet.

Customer Care: It is important for your eGiving provider or church to be able to respond to member questions in a timely fashion. Individual member preferences dictate that your program or church be capable of responding to members via email, online chat or over the phone.

Managing a successful eGiving program takes a great deal of knowledge, a keen attention to detail and a willingness to help others. Before starting an in house eGiving program or selecting a provider, it is important to assess necessary staff time, availability or what customer service support is provided by your eGiving provider to ensure your program’s success

Inspire Your Members

Your church has started an eGiving program, what now?

Set enrollment goals for your church.

Successful eGiving is about the number of members who actually sign up to give electronically to their church, not whether a church has a program!

What should you expect in your program’s first year and beyond?

Make sure your members know about it!

You can’t expect people to seek out eGiving on their own – you need to reach out to them with details on how eGiving works and why it’s beneficial to the church and to members alike.

Use a coordinated mix of the following communication tools:

Email: Personalized Email from the Pastor has proved to be a great way to promote eGiving.

Customized Letters: Since 20% of members still do not go online to enroll in eGiving program, mail continues to be a great way to communicate with them about your eGiving program.

Facebook and Twitter: Different segments of your church population are using Social Media for their everyday communication. This is a great way to spread the eGiving word!

Rotating Bulletin Announcements: Base message on season and liturgical calendar.

Remember: An eGiving program that members don’t know about and no one uses is like having no eGiving program at all! Make sure to promote eGiving, and keep close track of how many people are signing up, so you will know whether or not your program is working for your church.

Save Church Resources

Banks charge ATM fees. Airlines charge baggage fees. Like any conscientious consumer, you probably don’t like paying either but you know what the fees are going to be and budget for them when choosing a bank or airline.

But what about the fees being imposed on churches by some eGiving providers – fees that appear low until you have a successful, thriving eGiving program?

Now that every envelope, bulletin, software and publishing company serving the Catholic community is offering eGiving, trying to do an apples-to-apples cost comparison between a percentage-based or per-user program and a flat-fee approach would be a full time job.

The one basic principle to keep in mind: Federal Reserve data suggests that within 5 years, 80% of all church donations will have to be processed electronically due to check usage decline.

Any fee structure that takes a percentage of the gross receipts or has a user-based fee structure will prove to be very expensive for churches in a short period of time as more members join the program.

Think about those ATM and baggage fees – if you use your bank’s ATM, the fees are generally waived (and most grocery stores allow you to get cash back for free when you make a purchase). If you pack light and stick with a carry-on, you can avoid most airlines’ baggage fees. But with eGiving programs that charge a percentage of gross receipts or per-user fee, there’s no getting around the increased costs.

Tip: When comparing providers, request a written fee projection based on 80% of your collections being processed electronically. This will help you compare the programs and enable you to choose the one that will best fit your church.

In most cases, either selecting or switching to an equitable flat-fee model not only will save the church resources, but will help you be better stewards of your member’s generosity!

Faith Direct Celebrates 10 Years of Strengthening the Church through eGiving

Faith Direct – the visionary company that is leading the transformation of church giving away from check writing and envelopes – is excited to celebrate ten years of helping churches strengthen their offertories and build renewed support for their ministries.

If you are looking for a great story on an innovative, ambitious company that is having a transformative impact, Faith Direct is an outstanding example.

On February 2 of 2004, Faith Direct processed its first donations from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Bernardsville, NJ. Ten years later…

• Faith Direct has raised nearly $400 Million in donations for more than 500 churches across the country.
• Faith Direct now serves over 100,000 donors who use eGiving to support their church offertory, second collections and Capital Campaigns.
• In 2013, Faith Direct saw annual eGiving increase by 30% to nearly $120 million.

Faith Direct’s growth reflects the fact that the ability to accept electronic donations – whether through automatic bank debit or credit card – is now a requirement for any church organization’s financial stability.

“As we look towards the next 5 years, we believe that 80% of the $9 Billion in donations the Catholic Church receives each year will have to be processed electronically,” says W. Brian Walsh, company founder and president. “Yet, we estimate that at most, just 10% of all Church donations are managed this way. “

“Now is the time for the Church to phase out the old system of giving, and adapt eGiving just as parishioners are adapting it as their preferred means of giving,” Walsh adds, noting that Faith Direct is empowering parishes and dioceses with a better understanding of this next step in the evolution of offertory, and providing full-service eGiving strategies that go beyond just processing electronic transactions.

Meeting the demand of its clients and users, Faith Direct is the only provider in this space that offers parishes and dioceses a complete communication plan including direct mail, email, online account management, and an iOS app.

This leads Faith Direct parishes to achieve the highest level of eGiving participation among providers of this service. Key to parishioner and parish client retention is Faith Direct’s hands on customer service support, which has consistently received high praise.

“Since we processed our first donations in 2004, we have always believed that customized communication from the parish to the parishioner inviting them to support the Church electronically makes the difference in program success,” Walsh states.

People are responding to Faith Direct’s full-service approach to eGiving. A recent Faith Direct parishioner user survey found that:

• 99.6% of users stated Faith Direct exceeded their expectations
• 80% of users stated they would never go back to using check writing and envelopes.
• 60% of users are over the age of 60 – defying the stereotype that eGiving is preferred only by younger parishioners

“Our core mission has not changed in 10 years,” Walsh adds. “Faith Direct is uniquely positioned to continue our role in helping parishes and Dioceses integrate eGiving as the main platform for donation support.”

For a great story on how a company has transformed Church giving in just ten years – and how our full-service, customer-focused strategies are having a dramatic impact on our success and the growth of parish offertories across the nation – contact Faith Direct President Brian Walsh at (703) 519-5710 or via email here.

Pioneering Fundraising Firms for Church Form Strategic Partnership

CCS and Faith Direct – two pioneering firms with extensive expertise in critical areas of fundraising and philanthropy for the Catholic Church – are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership designed to help Catholic parishes and dioceses inspire increased gifts of treasure among Church families and further help those in need by expanding the missions and ministries of the Catholic Church nationwide.

Since 1947, CCS has been a leader in Catholic philanthropy managing campaigns for parishes, Dioceses and other Church-related organizations, raising billions in donations. Started in 2004, Faith Direct has established the most sought after eGiving program for the Catholic Church, and will surpass $100 million in processed donations in 2012.

“We believe that Faith Direct offers significant value, return on investment and results for the parishes and Dioceses they serve,” says Thomas Kissane, Partner and Managing Director at CSS. “Their approach to their work is extraordinary and we feel confident Faith Direct will provide exceptional eGiving services to our Church clients.”

Brian Walsh, President of Faith Direct, added “I have long admired the faithful tradition in which CCS manages their organization, and the phenomenal work they do for their Church clients. The Faith Direct team is thrilled to collaborate with CCS and work together to deliver even greater results for the Church.”

Faith Direct’s growth reflects the fact that the ability to accept electronic donations – whether through automatic bank debit or credit card – is quickly becoming a requirement for any church organization’s financial stability. Faith Direct is empowering parishes and dioceses with a better understanding of this next step in the evolution of offertory, and providing full-service eGiving strategies that go beyond just processing electronic transactions.

“Faith Direct understands that the skill and experience with which an eGiving program is introduced and administered is frequently the difference between a successful program and one which falls short of its potential,” explains Walsh. “We encourage church-wide participation in our programs though customized direct mail and email communications and exciting innovations like our new iOS App – and in doing so, we help churches grow their offertory while establishing a benchmark for converting check writers to eGivers.”

Today, Faith Direct works in 65 Dioceses supporting offertory, second collections, Appeals and Capital Campaigns. For more information on what makes the Faith Direct program uniquely innovative and effective, visit FaithDirect.net. To arrange an interview with Faith Direct President Brian Walsh, call (703) 519-5710.

CCS, a leading global fundraising consulting and management firm, provides fundraising, development services and strategic consulting to Catholic parishes and dioceses worldwide. Founded in 1947, the firm is wholly owned by its ten partners and retains the largest and most experienced permanent staff in the industry. To learn more, visit www.ccsfundraising.com.