3 Key Points to Increase Offertory - Online Giving Essential

We are seeing optimism among parishes and dioceses that we visit across the United States. Catholic parishes are providing meaningful services to the community and strong educational programs to their students.  Many of you are on the path to engaging parishioners in both the current activities of the parish and also the direction you want to head for the future.  The Pastors we have talked to have been doing some very creative and wonderful work ranging from working with the children in the parish to develop videos of guinea pigs riding in Lego automobiles to expansive programs to serve the needy in the community.

The results from the work we have done to Increase Offertory at parishes have been very positive.  A parish in the Diocese of San Diego experienced an increase in commitments of over 53% and $330,000.  One in the Diocese of Providence saw an increase of over $120,000 which amounted to 79% .  Another one in California had 140 new families start to participate in the parish.  One in upstate New York was able to define a new identity and bring people together for a new purpose in the midst of a 5 parish merger.

Needless to say, the Pastor and parish leadership are integral to the success of any program.  While every parish has different dynamics, there are some consistent points we are seeing the teams implement to increase their chances of a successful and sustained program.  Here are 3 of them:

1. Focus on the good works of the parish.  In addition to our formation and our personal Faith journeys, we care about organizations that are doing positive things. We want to donate our time and money to successful programs that deliver products or programs or services that we care about.  Our parishes do this all the time but sometimes we don't highlight this work.  Those parishes who experience a wealth of financial contributions are able to demonstrate how they are changing lives for the better and how they are improving lives for the people in the parish and the surrounding areas.

2. Use Online Giving to make it easy to give.  Remove any impediments to accepting a gift. Find ways to make it easy for anyone to give to the parish.  They don't have to be current members.  In fact as you are communicating about the wonderful things the parish does you should expect to attract new people to the parish. Online Giving is an integral part of regular contributions and of any increased offertory program. Allow people to give from the convenience of the web at a time that is convenient for them!

3. Keep Parishioners Informed.  The successful parishes use all their channels of communication to let parishioners know what is happening during and after the Increased Offertory program.  They incorporate points about the direction of the parish and the intent of the program across their website, offering envelopes, newsletters, announcements and bulletins.  It's very important to let all parishioners know about the results of the program and what the parish plans to do next.  Parishes can sustain their results by updating parishioners regarding how funds were used, what new positive programs were implemented, and the results of those new programs.

Do you have experience with increasing offertory?  Let us know!

3 Ways to Increase Giving for Your Parish - Fantastic Results

This week we had the opportunity to talk with parish representatives from across the country while we were at the International Catholic Stewardship Conference.  In addition to increasing our depth of understanding on our journey of Faith,  we wanted to make sure we understood the experience our customers have with our products and services.

We heard some useful techniques to maintain parishioner engagement and increase contributions for parishes who are using Online Giving from OSV:

1.  Send an email to announce special collections

Each month you have a new special collection planned,  pull your email list from Online Giving and send parishioners information about the purpose of the collection.  As part of the note let them know they can log in and select the gift as an option.

2.  Send a mid-year and year-end reminder

A couple times each year send a gentle reminder email to your Online Giving contributors.  Thank them for their contributions and remind them to review their gift commitments to the parish.  This gentle nudge encourages people to take the time to log in to review their commitments.

3.  Make Online Giving a Standard Part of Your Stewardship of Treasure program

If you do a more formal annual or periodic process to review and pray about financial commitments to the parish,  you can make it easy for parishioners by including the link to Online Giving in all your materials.  This is also a great way to sustain the the commitment through automatic recurring contributions.

Parishes who are offering Online Giving reported fantastic results:

One parish in Indiana credits Online Giving with "stabilizing their cash flow".  They had a tremendous reduction in monthly offertory during summer months when parishioners left for vacations at lake cottages.  By offering a simple way for parishioners to set up recurring contributions,  this parish eliminated a 30% loss of revenue for 3 to 4 summer months.  In addition the parish has seen an overall increase in contributions of 23% or more.

Two parishes we talked with compared contributions for the group of parishioners using Online Giving.  They looked at the 12 months before the group started using the application and compared it to the 12 months after they started using the application.  One parish in the northeast has seen an astounding 62% increase from credit card gifts,  and a 49% increase overall.   Another parish measured 42% increase.

In general we are observing at least 30% increase for individual parishioners who move to Online Giving.  This is due to a combination of the regularly scheduled gift and conscious decision on the part of the parishioner.  We also have found that coordinating Online Giving as part of a broader plan which keeps parishioners informed and engaged in the direction of the parish generates a more sustained increase over time.

Keep track of what we are doing through our news and events page: http://www.osvoffertory.com/NewsEvents.aspx






And let us know your experience at your parish!

4 points about increasing parish contributions through electronic giving

One of the great expectations we have from our parish electronic giving is that we will see an increase in contributions for the parish. And it is true that parishes see an increase in contributions.  But this number varies dramatically. Here are 4 points to consider:

1.  Some individual gifts do increase dramatically.  A gift online is a conscious choice which requires some level of thought and commitment.  If your parish was not engaging in pledge renewals in the past, then using a tool like Online Giving can provide that motivation to give more.  This increase has been demonstrated to be as much as 30%.
2.  A few drops of rain don't raise the level of the water in the ocean.  While you should expect individuals to give more,  if you only have a small percentage of parishioners using your Online Giving,  then the overall impact to contributions may be imperceptable. Don't expect a huge increase for the parish without encouraging people to use the system and helping them to get set up properly.
3.  Memory is unreliable.  Most of us have good intentions about our contributions to our parish.  However,  when we do miss Mass we don't always make up that contribution the way we think we do.  Online Giving can help correct this through scheduled automatic deductions based on the preference of the parishioner.
4.  If its not easy, people won't use it.   If you are making parishioners search for your website URL, or where to find it on the website, or you don't have your Online Giving on your Facebook page...  then you are missing opportunities for parishioners and even other community members to give.  Be easy to find.  Put the URL on your envelopes.  Tweet about Online Giving and put the link on Facebook and keep it up at the top of the page.  You want to attract your regular Mass attendees and also those who aren't as disciplined about their attendance.  Remember students away at school, or people who travel a great deal.

With a little attention,  your parish should see financial benefits to Online Giving.  And you may hear about how much people like the convenience of the tool!  Let us know your experience...