Online Giving For Churches: Software To Energize Tithes

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Online giving for churches is rapidly becoming the most preferred way to give for the devout. A study by Vanco states that 27% of donors prefer to donate through online giving for churches. The same study points out that even just giving the option to donate online boosts donations by 32%.

Here are some of the key advantages of online giving summarized:

Convenience and accessibility: Online giving allows church members and supporters to contribute anytime, anywhere, eliminating barriers such as forgetting cash or missing in-person services.
Expanding reach: Churches can communicate with members who attend virtually or live outside the local community. This is especially vital for churches offering online or hybrid worship experiences.
Increased giving: Studies show that digital giving options encourage more consistent donations. Recurring giving options, in particular, help stabilize income.
Adaptation to modern trends: As society becomes more digital, many people prefer using cards or digital payment methods over cash or checks. Churches that adopt online giving align with these preferences.
Data and analytics: Online giving platforms often provide reports and tools to track donations, identify trends, and engage effectively with donors.

What to look for in an online giving platform

Selecting the right online giving platform is critical for churches embracing modern technology while fostering generosity within their communities.

However, not all platforms are created equal, and finding the right fit requires thoughtful consideration.

It should provide a seamless experience for donors, whether they are giving on a mobile device, setting up recurring contributions, or participating in special campaigns. Features like low transaction fees, integration with church management software, and customizable branding can make a significant difference in creating a professional and engaging giving process.

Features to look for in an online giving platform

Ease of use: Ensure the platform is user-friendly for both the church staff and donors. Simple navigation and intuitive design are critical.
Mobile accessibility: Many donors give via phone, so mobile optimization is essential. Look for platforms with dedicated mobile apps or responsive designs.
Recurring giving options: Enable donors to set up recurring contributions, which can provide the church with more predictable income.
Low fees: Evaluate transaction fees (credit card, ACH, or processing fees) to ensure minimal impact on donations. Some platforms offer special rates for non-profits.
Multiple payment methods: Support for credit/debit cards, ACH bank transfers, digital wallets, Apple Pay, Venmo and other modern payment methods is essential.
Customizable branding: The giving platform should align with the church’s brand by allowing custom logos, colors, and messaging.
Integration with church software: Ensure the platform integrates seamlessly with existing church management systems (ChMS) or accounting software to simplify donor tracking and reporting.
Tax receipts and reporting: Automatic generation of tax-deductible receipts for donors and robust reporting tools for financial tracking are must-haves.
Security and compliance: To secure donor information, look for platforms with strong encryption, PCI compliance, and fraud protection.
Engagement features: Tools like automated thank-you messages, campaign performance tracking, or donor engagement data and reports can help nurture relationships with contributors.
Flexibility for campaigns: Ability to support specific fundraising campaigns or events with unique pages or goals.
Customer support: Reliable and accessible customer service is crucial in case of technical or operational issues.

Best platforms to enable online giving for churches

Here are five popular online giving platforms for churches. Each platform offers unique benefits, so the best choice depends on your church’s specific needs and budget.

While we have listed the best features of each, please keep in mind that the price can vary according to your needs and can be changed by the organization at its discretion.

Disclaimer: The prices we mention are what these platforms reflect as of December 2024. Please double-check the prices at the time you are reading this article.

Tithe.ly

Donors can give to Tithely with a credit card, debit card, ACH/bank transfer, or even cryptocurrency.

Features we love: .

Giving forms are available in multiple languages – helping donors who only speak Spanish.
Their analytics tool generates insight into increases and dips, and transaction history for individual donors and gives churches the ability to run donor management processes (like taking church members through a donation journey or regularly reminding them to donate again.)
Their pledge management system allows churches to create pledge campaigns for special initiatives like a building fund.
Tithely’s ‘Breeze ChMS’ software helps track attendance, contributions, and engagement among donors easily.

Price: $119/month for the paid version. They also have smaller tools that can be used for free (with restrictions).

Pushpay

Pushpay integrates with your existing church website to provide a simple method for making donations. Each payment has a transaction fee.

Features we love:

Their donation platform includes gift management and tracking, allowing churches to track legacy gifts and large donations.
Pushpay also provides an event registration tool, so you can integrate your events with donation requests.
An interesting feature is their live-streaming option, which allows churches to have virtual sermons and also provides ‘sermon notes’ to attendees.

Pushpay is more for larger churches looking to go digital in a big way, with online giving for churches just one aspect of the package.

Price: Contact Pushay for full pricing

Subsplash Giving

Subsplash is an online giving solution that allows church members and visitors to give through a mobile app, online, or text message.

Features we love:

Subsplash One includes mobile apps that allow churches to publish, share, and stream videos.
Subsplash push notifications can be sent to specific groups at no extra cost.
Subsplash offers tech support, a dedicated success coach, and a dedicated giving expert.
Planning support includes event scheduling, volunteer management, child check-in, and worship planning.

Price: 2-3% per transaction

Givelify

As a verified user mentioned in a review, “Our experience has been that we have gone as a congregation from at first about 5% choosing to use this app to almost 30% using it due to its user-friendliness and convenience.”

Features we love:

The app automatically detects a donor’s location and identifies the fundraiser or worship service they can give to.
Donors can save their ‘home church’ for quick one-tap giving and get immediate receipts for donations.
Givelify has a strong real-time component, allowing churches to view donations received and track fundraising progress in real time while being integrated with a preferred financial management software and automatic deposits to bank accounts.

Price: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Kindrid

A low-cost option for smaller congregations, Kindrid stands out in a ‘set up in an hour and get started’ mentality, where a quick and flexible solution is the answer.

Features we love:

Kindrid is very easy to set up. It typically can be done in under 30 minutes.
Users have especially praised Kindrid’s simple text-to-give system, which allows people to donate through a link on any device.
It is the cheapest online giving software, but it still allows advanced features like analytics, donor tracking, and income projections.

Price: Contact Kindrid for full pricing. Free trial available.

CallHub: Online giving for churches made easy

A critical aspect of giving online for churches is to use text messages to their full potential.

This includes:

Text to donate: This is best for short-term campaigns and special days. This sends churchgoers a text message with a (trackable) donation link. Churchgoers can visit the URL and donate any amount they choose on the donation page.

Phone tree with Cloud Call Center: Make outbound calls or receive incoming calls from your members on one platform. This lets you have conversations with new congregants to build stronger relationships, and reach existing members to get their feedback, and discuss other agendas.

Have you decided to begin?

An average person receives 121 emails per day and 1,831 texts per month. This makes it difficult for your church to cut through the noise and stand out.

However, you can quickly get your message out with a planned donor journey, using phone calls, texts, and emails as reminders. To ensure all your communication happens on time and reactively, it is best to use automated systems like CallHub’s Workflows, making every message count.

Sign up with CallHub today for these benefits and many more. Sign up here!

Feature image: Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay.

Vinayak Hegde

Vinayak Hegde is a content marketer who has been covering non-profits, changemakers, and advocacies for over six years. His experience includes all forms of digital content creation, including text, audio, and video.