If you’re using some form of online giving for your parish, you’re doing the right thing to grow your ministry. But if you have an online giving platform in place and yet nothing seems to improve, there are a few issues to address.
The first thing to consider is whether the existing software is supportive enough for the ministry. Every parish has different needs, depending on factors like location, size, and charity.
Your parish deserves a giving platform they can rely on. Keep reading to learn the five signs it’s time to switch your Catholic online giving tool!
1. The Cost is Too High
It’s a huge red flag if your parish isn’t making a return on investment from its giving software. Depending on the size of your parish, online giving solutions can cost $40 to $10k per month or sometimes more.
There are several costs associated with online giving platforms:
- Monthly or annual subscription plans
- Processing fees
- Extra fees for premium features
If your parish is small and can’t afford costly monthly subscriptions, there are Catholic online giving options that start as little as $19 per month. There are also strategies you can implement to increase online giving and manage parish funds more effectively.
Processing fees are typically similar to credit and debit card transaction fees. For example, to process a transaction, the platform takes 1.5% to 3% of the payment + $0.50 per donation. These fees vary depending on the provider.
Bonus tip: Some platforms provide parishes with giving success coaches. A personalized coach will help your ministry reach important funding goals. So not only do you receive access to the giving platform, but you also receive customized strategy plans to empower your parish in all its giving efforts.
2. It Isn’t User-Friendly
Today, the majority of the population is tech-savvy. About 60% of church attendees say they’d prefer to donate online. Hence, people want to donate through online giving solutions that are easy to use, intuitive, and visually appealing. But a lot of Catholic online giving providers lack a user-friendly interface. If this is the case for your current platform, it might be time to switch.
This is especially true if you’ve been using an online giving tool for years but there have been no updates to the interface. If the clergy and people in the lairy complain that the online giving software is confusing, buggy, or hard to use, upgrade to a better platform.
3. Lack of Integration Options
For many churches, the source of failure in an online giving platform lies in its lack of integration features for church management software. You don’t want to have a bunch of different programs for all kinds of different purposes— you want one robust program that can seamlessly do it all.
From accounting to observing Mass attendance, church management software (ChMS) is an essential part of understanding your ministry operations. With online giving ChMS integration, you can view all the information you need to:
- Engage with your givers
- Securely receive donations
- Keep track of member involvement
- Make administrative tasks easier
- Support every ministry in your parish
- Maintain communication with the community
- Generate reports
If the current online giving tool at your parish is not able to connect with the ChMS, consider upgrading. If you don’t have a ChMS yet, it’s time to get one! When looking for a new platform to switch to, keep in mind that there are Catholic church online giving tools that come with a ChMS.
4. Not Enough Customer Support
As a parish and diocese, your experience with a Catholic online giving platform matters. At times, the leadership team may require guidance when using online giving to increase the ministry’s generosity.
Catholic ministries have unique needs when it comes to funding and managing finances. Your diocese not only requires enough donations for daily operations, but it also requires extra funds to donate faithfully to larger Catholic charities around the world.
If something goes wrong with your online giving platform— or if you simply want to learn how to use it more effectively— you need to be able to reach out for support. If your current online giving provider remains unresponsive or unhelpful, it’s time to consider a better option.
Fortunately, there are Catholic online giving tools that handle this type of support. View an example here!
5. It’s Not Catholic-Specific
Online giving for Catholic churches is a little different than online giving for other Christian denominations. The Catholic faith has unique obligations like second collections and pledges, which your giving platform should fully support.
Parishes benefit from using an online giving provider that understands Catholicism. From the features of the software to customer communication, it’s important to switch to a provider that relates to your ministry in every way possible.
What Catholic Giving Platform is Best?
There are more than five reasons to switch to a Catholic online giving platform for your parish. But these five are sure signs the time has come.
To clarify, the best Catholic giving solution should include:
- Reasonable pricing
- User-friendly digital features
- Church management software integration
- Excellent customer support
- Features that represent the Catholic faith
At ParishSOFT, we noticed the gap between the finest online giving features and the needs of the Catholic community. So, we filled these gaps. We created a platform that specifically serves parishes and dioceses.
Need help making the switch to a platform that prioritizes online giving for Catholics? Reach out to ParishSOFT today. We’re ready to support you every step of the way!
