How Text-to-Give Works
Many church leaders looking to increase revenue have no doubt wondered how text-to-give software works. Statistics show that this technology can increase donor retention and overall contributions, but a bit of hesitancy is understandable when you don’t know why these results occur. This is why we’ve created the following in-depth guide to help you understand these platforms.
At DonorWerx, our job is to ensure we fully inform church leaders on the tools they’re using and how to increase both donations and tithes. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions or if you’re ready to Get started using this technology.
Text-to-Give Software for Churches
Churches and nonprofits experience text donation software from a different perspective than donors. The right program can make giving by parishioners as simple as sending a text, but there’s a bit more background work involved for the organizations collecting donations. Fortunately, tithing by text has been around for a while. This means the process for ministries has simplified as well.
The following are the basic steps on how text-to-give works for churches:
- Choose a vendor. There are plenty of text-to-give platforms for churches, and it’s your job to choose the one that best fits your needs. When deciding, look for the following features:
- Integration with other tools. This minimizes the need for multiple tools to complete similar tasks.
- Platforms that support mobile, kiosk and online giving.
- Donor engagement framework to increase text donations.
- Dashboard that monitors key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Market your new campaign. You need to get the word out about your text-to-give software. There are various ways to do this:
- Have your “inner circle” spread the word among their circles.
- Send out emails leading up to the rollout.
- Make announcements during church services.
- Run social media ads to target your followers.
- Focus on donor engagement. Text-to-give software cannot be completely effective without a focus on donor engagement. Utilize best practices to get the most out of your giving software.
This is the basic framework for how text donation software works and how to make it work better for your church. There will obviously be a bit of setup to go through, but if you get your software through a service like DonorWerx, we can help you through every step of the process. There will be some work on your part, but an improved donor experience will be the end result.
Text-to-Give Software for Donors
One of the major components of a successful mobile giving campaign is simplicity for your congregants. They shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to contribute to your ministry. After all, collection plate donations have gone down because they require people to stop at ATMs or write personal checks. The entire point of this process is to make things easier for parishioners.
This means their journey in text donations shouldn’t consist of much more than these tasks:
- Send a text message: This will go to a number that’s set up for your church and contain a keyword along with their desired tithe or donation.
- Fill out donor form: The first time a congregant uses text-to-give software, they’ll receive a link where they can fill out required payment information.
- Donation confirmation: After a donation is complete, a donor should always receive a confirmation and “thank you” message.
Even though this process is simple, it actually gets easier in the future. Once your parishioners enter their information the first time, they’ll only need to send the keyword and donation amount from then on. This is only the case for text-to-give platforms since text-to-donate services do nothing more than send a link that leads to a responsive online donation page.
While text-to-give offers a measure of simplicity over text-to-donate, both these platform types typically allow recurring gifts. This shows that there are differences between the two technologies, but they both have the potential to improve donor retention and increase giving revenue.
The Best Text-to-Give Platform for Church Tithing and Donations
Does Text-to-Give Work on Its Own?
If text-to-give software increased church revenue 100 percent of the time, no ministry leader would hesitate to make the investment. This raises the question of why some churches succeed when offering mobile donation options while others do not. The answer is straight and simple: Tools do not work without effort.
Take a moment to imagine your church needs a new roof. Someone comes by and supplies shingles, nails, hammers and everything else you could possibly need. What happens next? Well, nothing happens without a bit of effort. It’s not enough to have the right tools available; you need to use them in the right way to get the job done.
Text-to-give software gives congregants the ability to tithe at any time and any place. Granting this level of simplicity to your members could increase revenue on its own, but this will be only a fraction of what’s possible if you exert genuine effort. Improve your donor communication. Tell inspiring stories. Take steps to increase engagement.
Because when you put in the effort, your tools will get the job done.
Choose Your Text-to-Give Software Today
Houses of worship face a reality where donations and tithes are at all-time lows. When looking at different churches, though, it becomes apparent that not everyone is equally affected. This doesn’t mean that one ministry is better than another. In reality, it just means some churches have identified the tools necessary to keep revenue up in the current economic climate.
Text-to-give software is a powerful weapon in the fight to increase what your church can do. It’s far from the only resource you need, however, so understanding how these tools work is imperative. Schedule a discovery call with a DonorWerx giving expert today to learn how these technologies can help your ministry increase its ability to do God’s work.
