Best Online Donation Tools to Get Recurring Donors in 2021

In 2021, a focus on online fundraising should be your church priority. Without an avenue for accepting donations online, you won’t be able to reach your mission goals. This year has made it clear that the transition to virtual and online operations is the same in multiple industries. The nonprofit and church missions were no exception. But finding the best online donation tools for you starts with doing proper research.

At DonorWerx, we have worked with thousands of churches and their donors. So we understand how challenging it is to source the right donation tools to fit your church’s needs.

1.      Online Giving Software

The right online giving software has the potential to increase your recurring giving by 39%! Wouldn’t you want to reach a goal like this in 2021? With people attending in-person services less, there’s a deep desire to stay connected with their church or pastor of choice online.

Take this into consideration when planning your new year giving strategies. If you can provide a program for them to keep supporting you, they’ll stick around and be consistent donors. But this all depends on how easy you make it for them to give.

2.     A Trusted CRM Platform

The CRM platform (customer retention management) is also ideal for churches’ giving strategy. This helps you stay consistent in your relationships with donors, managing their gifts, and streamlining the flow of donations. Ideally, a good CRM program does the following:

• Helps you gain more donors, based on reports of your last fundraisers
• Shows your fundraising progress in easy charts
• Facilitates surveys to send out to your donors
• Helps you determine a better donor strategy
• Integrates well with other donor systems you are using

3.     Virtual Events Management Tool

If you are one church that shifted in-person events to the online space, it’s likely you’ve kept your donors and supports well engaged. Always be on the lookout for online events management tools that help you do the following:

• Market your online events before they happen
• Affordably execute your online event
• Hosting for live streams2
• A built-in production studio
• A reliable broadcasting platform
• Real time chat options
• Easy ticketing systems
• Interactive features

4.     Online Payments Processing Tools

Although we list this one last, it should probably be the number one key component of your church giving strategy. Without an efficient or secure payment processer, you are simply throwing money out the window. Avoid losing gifts and donors by ensuring that you can offer your givers the best online payment solutions.

A platform like Stripe is ideal because it includes what a good online payment solution should have:

• Mobile payment processing.
• Increased donation revenue.
• Secure, encrypted payments.
• Reporting and insights

PayPal is another trusted platform for church donations because they offer discounted transaction rates for 501(c)(3) charities. Those who want to give via their Paypal account enjoy fast checkouts. They’re already used to making online payments this way, so it’s a good option to include on your church website.

A Final Tool: Faith for the Future

Remember that the best preparation you can do for your 2021 Giving Strategy is to plan in advance. At DonorWerx, we produce all you need to Get started—checklists, assessment forms, digital tools to give you a head start on your giving goals.

Here are some great Bible verses on giving to encourage you that it’s still possible to meet your mission needs and goals in the coming year:

2 Corinthians 9:11

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 

Reach out to us at DonorWerx today to find out more about the latest online donation tools at your disposal.