How to Give Online: 5 Platforms That Change Your Financial Future

Online giving has quickly become a popular way to tithe and donate to the ministry. Unfortunately, many church leaders have found themselves left behind on this trend. The change from offering plate to online giving platform may have seemed abrupt, but it’s actually been a long time coming. Luckily, there are many tools pastors and leadership teams can use to catch up. 

Each of the following resources serves a specific purpose. You’ll find platforms that make online giving easy, but you’ll also discover educational tools that can help you better navigate this new world. Because while online giving platforms may be essential for modern churches, they might prove useless without a bit of knowledge. 

If you have questions regarding fundraising, donor engagement or anything else that can impact your ministry, contact us today at DonorWerx. 

1. PayPal

You won’t hear most people recommend using only PayPal for collecting online donations. That’s because it has a variety of features that are actually detrimental to churches. Consider some of the biggest pitfalls of using PayPal to collect church donations: 

• Third-party site: When someone clicks the PayPal button on your website, they’re taken to a third-party website. This has shown to increase drop-off rates. 
• Branding issues: While you may not view your church as a brand, branding is still important. PayPal doesn’t offer much in this area for ministries. 
• PayPal fees: Many people believe donating through PayPal is free, but this isn’t the case. The platform takes fees from all donations, and in many cases, they’re not transparent about it. 
• Limited support: If you or a donor has an issue on PayPal, getting in touch with them might be a problem. This is one of the reasons eBay stopped working directly with the payment processor.

These are just a few of the reasons PayPal shouldn’t be your primary online giving platform. Still, having the option to use the site can still prove beneficial in some scenarios. Additionally, a backup funding source never hurts. 

2. YouTube

Online giving platforms are powerful tools. Unfortunately, they won’t magically fix all the financial issues your ministry faces. That’s because even the best tools are useless when in an untrained hand. Fortunately, YouTube offers a wealth of information that can help you better understand church finances. Consider this short video on church finance training: 

https://youtu.be/pQLpZ3cmceg

The amazing thing is that this video barely scratches the surface of what’s available. Do you need help creating a church budget? Would knowing how to host a silent auction benefit your ministry? What if you had a video that provided step-by-step instructions on building a stand for your new giving kiosk? 

On YouTube, you can find these informational videos and much more. 

3. DonorWerx

What if you could combine an online giving platform with educational resources and a donor engagement framework? That’s exactly what’s provided at DonorWerx. We use SecureGive software — which we’ll discuss more in-depth below — to make digital giving an easy process. We pride ourselves, however, in offering far more than that.

DonorWerx clients also receive a bulk of educational resources that simplify donor engagement. Literally, everything you need — including messaging templates — is available as part of our framework. Schedule a Discovery Call with one of our giving experts today, and you’ll walk away with more than just a sales pitch. 

Because even if you choose to go another route, we’ll provide you with concrete steps to increase giving by at least 10% in just six months. 

4. NonprofitReady Online Courses

Some of the best resources for church leaders don’t fall into the online giving platform category at all. In fact, NonprofitReady offers a variety of free online fundraising courses. You can learn everything from time management to event hosting on this platform. 

The big draw for many people is that you can earn free certificates on the site. Of course, this might not mean much to church leaders. After all, you’re trying to make a successful ministry — not find a job in grant writing. 

Still, the skills you learn on this site could prove invaluable even if they don’t offer an online giving platform. 

5. SecureGive

Most donor engagement frameworks do not come with their own digital giving software. This isn’t the case with DonorWerx. In addition to our giving framework, our clients also receive access to SecureGive. This is one of the most trusted online giving platforms on the market, and the admin dashboard is both intuitive and informative. 

Once you use SecureGive, you’ll wonder how you got by without it. Of course, you need more than just a donation tool. That’s why the educational resources in this guide are also important. When you combine a solid understanding of donors, fundraising, and other important issues with a proven online giving platform, the sky becomes the limit for your ministry. 

How DonorWerx Can Help

Some of the resources provided here help you collect donations, and others focus more on education. Pinpointing the tools that do both, however, is what your ministry needs to succeed. That’s exactly what we offer at DonorWerx. By combining our donor engagement framework with the latest in digital giving, your church will be on the path to excel. 

Click here to learn more about our online giving platform and how it can improve donor engagement and increase giving.