Change In Season is Ideal Time to Introduce Parishioners to New Methods of Giving

by: Zak Bernath
Across the country leaves are falling, colors are changing, temperatures are dropping, and parish life is entering a vibrant season of reflection. For many parishes, it is a time for spiritual and stewardship renewal. Our Sunday Visitor is fortunate to share this season with thousands of parishes by offering services to help foster this atmosphere of spiritual vibrancy. As an offertory solutions provider, Our Sunday Visitor recognizes the parish need for communication and engagement services.

As a printer and mail house, we offer numerous products and services aimed at communicating biblical principles of stewardship. These services range from stewardship envelope programs, to newsletters, to state of the parish reports, and more. As a company that is helping usher parishes into the 21st century, we also offer web-based services such as Online Giving and content-managed websites. But did you know that printing services and web-based services are not mutually exclusive? When it comes to engaging parishioners, they are very significantly fused together.

Let’s explore this idea by using Online Giving as an example. Online Giving is a way for parishioners to establish recurring gifts to the parish through a secure website.

There is no more raw an act of first fruits giving than having ones gift come automatically from a bank or credit card account. And the benefit to the parish finances is quite obvious: the parish no longer relies on mass attendance to sustain the offertory. This is especially important given the fact that only 31% of self-identified Catholics attend mass on any given Sunday.1 But the question many parishes face is, “How do we educate parishioners and communicate the idea of technology replacing traditional methods of giving?” Ironically, the answer is through printed communications.

According to a 2011 study done by Dunham+Company, a strategic fundraising consulting organization, more than three times as many individuals made online donations based on direct mail letters than email appeals.2 This seems ironic, but we know that people still respond by having something directly placed in front of them, something they can hang on to and don’t immediately send to the “recycle bin”. Direct mail not only takes on significance physically, but psychologically. Taking the effort to mail a letter shows parishioners that the parish is prioritizing its message. And that message is far too important to confuse with spam.

In addition to the above findings, another 2011 survey by Dunham+Company reveals even more to shatter some of our assumptions about Online Giving. 51% of donors over the age of 60 reported making an online donation at some point in time.3 This tells us that while Online Giving may initially be attractive to engage the younger population, middle age and elderly are not only the core of your offertory giving but also more than willing to go online to give. Now we just need to educate them about this great service!
As the fall renewal season enters full swing, be considering how you can continue to engage your parish community through both new technology and traditional methods. Let’s create an atmosphere of gratitude for the gifts we all have been given.

1 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate
2 Business Mailer Review – September 17, 2012
3 Business Mailer Review – September 17, 2012

Survey Says: Gifts Increase when Parishioners use Online Giving

We created Online Giving to be a simple solution that provides stability and an increase in contributions for collections. Our Sunday Visitor recently polled 144 donors from a single parish who switched from using envelopes to Online Giving for their offertory. The results were promising and illustrate the clear benefits to using this electronic service.

Within this six-month span, the average giver increased their gift by 49%.

Over half of the donors at the parish chose a credit card, and their donations increased by 62% over their envelope gifts. The credit card option is often the most enticing to donors and the parish as it allows for more flexibility in giving and there are no additional costs. Cards also allow the donor to accrue card benefits like miles, points, or other rewards. 

Data shows that credit card users consistently give more than those who use their bank accounts to give electronically.

45% of parish donors used ACH and their donations increased by 32% over their envelope gifts. Considering both credit card and ACH contributions combined, this amounted to an overall increase of around $60,000. That’s an average increase of $415 per donor.

How has Online Giving impacted your parish?

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!

Will You Vote in this Election? 3 points to Motivate Giving Online

I was reading an article yesterday that featured people who were not planning to vote in the presidential election this year.  There were a variety of reasons ranging from "don't like either candidate" to "not going to bother".  I was fascinated that a number of people had an opinion about who they would like to have serve as our President but were not planning to vote.

At the other extreme we have volunteers in both parties who are fiercely focused on their cause and are fully engaged in the campaign of their preferred person.

This sounds to me like a cross section of any given parish and the attitudes of the parishioner base.  We have a group of parishioners who are committed to the parish and the cause and are involved deeply in the community of the parish.  And we have many who are not engaged and don't plan to bother. 

I think the difference is in how the parish appeals to the gifts, priorities and needs of parishioners.  When people have a cause they care about,  they become active and engaged.  When there is conflict or emergency or perceived urgency,  we find ways to respond.  Kind of like election times.

I have seen a couple interesting reports in the past few weeks that provide pertinent information.  The first, from CARA,  indicates the distribution of ages of who attends Mass:

When we are appealing to parishioners in the pews,  we must consider their experience base.  The age groups represented have been accepting Online Giving but also are comfortable with offering envelopes.  The 9% millenial group has a very different view.

The second report indicated trends in tools used for contributions:

So we see strong acceptance of Online Giving types of applications, approaching the use of envelopes.  Has this been the experience at your parish? 

Our OSV data indicate that 10% is a pretty good expectation for the number of parishioners who use Online Giving as their preferred method.  So taking a lesson from the behavior of people for this years election,  maybe we need to find the motivation for people to use Online Giving.

Here are 3 points that you can use to motivate parishioners:

1.  It is simple for them.  Once they set it up it is easy to change at any time.  Contributions recur automatically

2.  It helps the parish.  Overall giving increases because of consistently scheduled gifts and a more thoughtful contribution from the parishioner.  Staff time and money handling is reduced.

3.  Access is convenient.  Parishioners can contribute from any location with internet access at any time.

Its time to vote in the election.  While we are at it lets show our vote for our parishes and give online.
Comments?

A lesson from the Olympics; Key points for engaging parishioners

As I have grabbed a few minutes here and there to watch the Olympics competition,  I found myself emotionally involved with some of the races and the results even when I knew the final outcome. As it turns out, this was generated in part by the "human interest" backgrounds provided about some of the competitors.  I am not a fan of reality shows and, frankly, have stopped watching some of my past favorites because they had introduced so much content about the people in place of the action.

Yet here I am, taking in the information and getting involved in the story.

It occurs to me that the technique and my reaction are consistent with recommendations from the Bishops pastoral letter on Stewardship, research by Chuck Zech and Villanova University, and our own past recommendations about getting parishioners to use Online Giving!  I'm sure you wonder how I arrived at this connection...

Here are a couple points to consider:

1. Use Lay Witness talks.  People respond to other people much more deeply than to a concept. The purpose of the lay witness talk is for a person to tell their story.  Those who share perspective and life experience with the lay witness will respond and react.  This was the reaction I was having to some of the Olympic competitors.  So use people in the parish to talk about their experience with Online Giving (and of course other spiritual topics).  If your parishioners share their experience it becomes more real and accessible for others.

2. Appeal to peoples need to give.  We have a deep need to respond through our actions, prayer and financial contributions.  Yet the triggers for our response are different for each of us, rooted in our formation and life experience, and our interests and priorities.  As part of the stewardship process and also to gain acceptance for your Online Giving application, your parish must appeal to this need to give by making the connection to parishioner priorities, interests and experience.  Back to point number 1.  The lay witness talk or "human interest" story is a great way to make this connection.

So as you embark on your journey with Online Giving, consider the Olympics.  Online Giving provides convenience and security for parishioners, and consistent cash flow for the parish. Yet even those of us with good intentions may not take the step to do the simple registration.  We need the extra reminder and push to make that effort.  The parish can help by providing Olympic moments - stories from parishioners about their experience that help the rest of us realize that using Online Giving would be a pleasure rather than a burden.

And ultimately the great works we can do as a parish with the gifts we all share!

Have you had any Olympic moments?  Please share.