By Vickey Richardson
Churches, both large and small, are experiencing a growing demand to accept giving electronically. Online giving increased 23% in 2017 after a 15% increase the year before.
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Religious organizations have historically received the largest share of charitable donations. In 2016, 31% of all donations, or $127.37 billion, went to Religious organizations.
Why are churches leading this charge? It is largely driven by the fact that church members faithfully give on a weekly or monthly basis, but the manner in which people make their recurring payments is changing. The majority of households in the U.S. now pay their bills online. Fewer people carry around their checkbook, if they even have one at all. To keep pace with these changing habits, it is important for churches to seriously consider how to securely offer online tithe for their members.
While churches are offering online giving as an added convenience for members, they are discovering a hidden benefit. When members give online, the average amount is a little larger and their giving is more consistent. Giving is less likely to dip during the summer months and people are less likely to miss a week or month when they go out of town.
Adding online giving benefits both members and churches. The good news is it can also be easy to set up for your church without up-front cost. We recommend Aplos church accounting software, which lets churches accept and track online giving as part of its all-in-one platform—so donations flow straight into your bookkeeping and automatically generate contribution statements for your members.