Text-to-Give: Increasing Donations Through Mobile Giving

Nearly every aspect of tithing has changed drastically in recent years. One of the most significant changes, though, is the advent and expansion of text-to-give options. This form of mobile giving sits somewhere between offering plates and online giving. And when it hit the scene, it made via text messaging began to make waves.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a case of “if you build it, they will come.” It’s not enough to simply find the best text-to-give platform and hope things fall into place. You must take active measures to make it a success, and luckily, this doesn’t have to turn into a time-consuming endeavor. Take a moment to brush up on the following tithing by text information. You’ll be glad you did.

Why is Text-to-Give So Important?

While it’s important to understand the best ways to increase donations via text-to-give, it’s first essential to recognize why this tool is so important. Many ministry leaders have come around to the idea that online giving is valuable, but do people really want to give via text message? The answer is a resounding yes. In fact, tithing over text has become a multi-billion dollar industry.

This goes to show that text-to-give platforms have become mainstream. Since one out of every four donations takes place on mobile devices, this isn’t a tremendous surprise. Even if this industry hadn’t reached “boom” status, though, integrating the tool into your giving strategy would still be important. We can boil the reasoning behind this down to two words: decreased giving. 

While the coronavirus pandemic had a significant effect on church contributions, tithing levels were already on the decline. In fact, they had reached Depression-era levels long before the pandemic reared its ugly head. When giving levels are dropping, you need to use every tool at your disposal. This means that – even if the industry wasn’t currently excelling – text-to-give would still be important.

Increasing Mobile Giving With Tithing by Text

Understanding the many reasons to accept donations via text message is only part of the battle. Sending out a social media post alerting your congregation of your new giving tool is ideal, but it’s far from all that’s necessary for success. Utilize the following tips for getting your tithe by text program off the ground, and the increased giving levels will speak for themselves.

1. Place an Announcement on Your Giving Page

Your church’s donation website page should encourage giving in a variety of ways. From videos of successful projects to the placement of the donation button, everything on the page serves the purpose of eliciting an immediate monetary contribution. Of course, many people visit the page and leave before entering their financial information. This is where text-to-give can help.

By listing the information required for text fundraising right on your donation page, you provide congregants an additional option for giving. If they’re worried about online security, they can receive a text directly from the church. If they suddenly realized they were running late for work, they can shoot off a quick text before leaving. Giving this extra option can work wonders on giving levels.

2. Mention Text-to-Give From the Pulpit

You should never be afraid to talk about money from the pulpit. If you’re honest with your congregation and transparent about where funds go, no one can get upset if you broach the topic of finance during service. Of course, it’s important to do this at the appropriate time. This is especially the case when discussing tithing by text.

If you mention your ministry’s new donation option while the collection plate is going around, for instance, it provides parishioners who don’t have cash an opportunity to still give. Bringing this up during announcements is equally acceptable, and reminding folks at the conclusion of service will make the tithing option stick in their heads.

Explain text-to-give options however you want, but make sure you focus on their simplicity!

3. Include Mobile Giving Options in Email Signatures

Whether your church newsletter ideas are basic or complex, they should always include information on how congregants can donate via text message. You’ll benefit from this giving tool even more, though, if you go the extra mile and include the information in your email signature. Many nonprofits place the text-to-give details in all their leaders’ email signatures.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Take Out a Facebook Ad

Social media is a great place to announce your new giving initiatives. If you’ve used Facebook over the years, though, you know the reach of pages isn’t what it used to be. And if your post about tithing by text doesn’t get quick engagement, the social media giant will reduce the number of your followers who see it.

While principle dictates that you shouldn’t have to pay money to show your followers content, this isn’t the case when announcing your text-to-give campaign. You need your members to see this announcement, and when using Facebook Ad tools, you can target them directly. The return on investment that most ministries see makes this an acceptable expenditure.

5. Use as Part of a Larger Strategy

You shouldn’t treat promotion of your initiative to get text donations as an afterthought. For a successful campaign, though, you also shouldn’t treat it as a singular tool. It should be part of a larger plan that focuses on improving donor relationships in order to increase giving. The DonorWerx Framework is one example of how integrating several tools improves the effectiveness of all.

Not only will a donor engagement strategy increase donations for your text-to-give campaign, but using the right tool will also provide additional digital giving options. DonorWerx uses SecureGive for its tithing by text offerings, for instance. The tool can also handle donor pages, giving apps, kiosk donations, and more. Integration is key for success.

Implement Text-to-Give Strategies Today

While social distancing and lockdown orders may have wreaked havoc on ministries in 2020, decreased tithing levels have been a long time coming. This is an unfortunate reality, but it’s neither unexpected nor insurmountable. Your ministry can do more than survive – it can actually thrive – if you simply accept this new reality and use the tools readily available to overcome it.

Text-to-give offerings are one of these tools, and that’s why the DonorWerx Framework provides this capability. By combining our donor engagement strategies with digital giving options, you can increase the tithes and donations your ministry currently receives. Schedule a Discovery Call with one of our giving experts today, and you’ll understand that there’s a better path forward.