Make giving easy for your people

People want to give. What gets in the way is usually small: no cash on hand, a form with too many fields, or a reminder that arrives after the moment has passed.

Making giving easy is mostly about removing those small things.

#Let people give whenever generosity strikes

Generosity doesn't keep office hours. Someone might decide to give during the sermon, on a Tuesday night, or after reading a missions update. Make sure they can do it from their phone or your website, any time of day.

The fewer steps the better: choose a fund, enter an amount, pick a saved card or bank account. Apple Pay and Google Pay make it quicker still.

#Offer recurring gifts

Recurring giving lets people give regularly without having to remember. It also makes your budget more predictable.

Make it easy to set up, and just as easy to change. People are more likely to start a recurring gift when they know they're in control of it, and when they can see their giving history whenever they like.

People give more freely when they know they're in control.

#Name your funds clearly

Tithes, missions, building fund, benevolence: give people a short list of clear choices. If a fund needs explaining, explain it on your website or in your app, not in the giving form.

#Keep every gift in one place

Online giving is only half the picture. Plenty of people still give cash or checks, and some give things that aren't money at all.

If those gifts live in a different spreadsheet from your online giving, someone has to stitch them together at year end. In Culminate Life, digital gifts record themselves, cash is quick to enter, check data can be imported from your bank, and non-cash gifts sit alongside the rest. Every gift is tied to a person, so giving statements come straight from the dashboard.

• OnlineRecords itself
• RecurringRecords itself, every time
• CashQuick to enter
• CheckImported from your bank
• Non-cashLogged with the rest

Giving Overview

• MissionsOnline
• TithesRecurring
• General fundCash
• Building fundCheck
• BenevolenceNon-cash

Giving statements✓ Ready to send

#Look at the trends, not just the total

A weekly total tells you how one Sunday went. Trends tell you more: whether recurring giving is growing, which funds people care about, and when giving dips. The Giving Overview turns donor activity into reports that are easy to read, without exporting anything.

#Start where you are

You don't need to change everything at once. Turn on online giving, tell people about it from the front, and add recurring gifts when you're ready.

Culminate Life Giving is free for up to 50 donations a month, with payments processed by Stripe. See how Giving works or read about making giving easy.