From digital services to virtual baptisms to live-streamed funerals, congregations across the country are finding innovative ways to adapt to the nationwide ban on public gatherings. But faith communities who have traditionally counted on the collection plate to raise funds are finding themselves scrambling to finance their continued existence. Givelify was built expressly for this moment—to help communities of faith take their charitable giving online. Here are a few things you should look for when searching for an online charitable giving solution of your own:
Make online charitable giving beautifully easy
Your congregation wants to give, not get bogged down in technology. Make sure the solution you choose is as simple and straightforward as possible, with no text-to-give numbers to remember or clunky online forms to fill out. Givelify is a beautiful Tap-Give-Done experience your members will love to use.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Be sure the solution you choose works with your existing financial or church management software and can plug right in to a custom app if you’ve already built one. And check to see if your provider has robust tech support, so you can concentrate on sermons, not software.
Read the fine print
You’re trying to raise funds, not spend them. Take a close look at the fees your provider charges, and don’t get locked into any contract—no matter how good that “three months free”-offer sounds. There are no signup or monthly fees to use Givelify, and there never will be.
Trust the data of online giving
Your members are going mobile— and using their smartphones as their wallets. 70% of Americans (over 221 million people) own smartphones, and spend almost $2 billion per year with them. Most Givelify member congregations report a 20-30% increase in giving within 60 days of rollout.
Givelify took a look at same-day giving habits from the first three months of 2019 compared to 2020 – here’s what we found.
- In-church giving percentage dropped from 48.6% to 1.7%
- Number of donors increased by 9%
- Total donations increased by 13%
Reach your members where they are
It’s easy to add Givelify’s next-generation fundraising functionality to the live-streaming and social media solutions you’re already using. For a comprehensive list of must-have solutions to engage your members, read this.
- Learn how to set up a Facebook Livestream
- Learn how to stream on YouTube Live
- What is IGTV
- What is an Instagram Story
- Learn how to Pin a Post to Facebook
- Add a Givelify Social Giving Link to your messaging
- Add a Givelify giving button to your website
How to sign up with Givelify
We’re facing an unprecedented health crisis. But Givelify gives communities of faith the tools it takes to adapt to the next generation of charitable giving—and take fundraising efforts to a higher level.
29 Comments
Marvin Rhodes
April 15, 2020 at 9:17 amHow are donatios made?
How are donations transferred to banking accounts?
Matt Chandler
April 15, 2020 at 10:17 amHi Marvin. Donations are made either via the mobile app or an organization’s online giving widget. These donations are automatically deposited in the receiving organization’s bank account the next business day.
Joyce Franklin
April 15, 2020 at 12:15 pmHow is the church notified of deposits made by givers?
Matt Chandler
April 15, 2020 at 12:18 pmHi Joyce. Officers on a church’s Givelify account can opt to receive email notifications of donations made. They can also access their Givelify dashboard at any time, from which they can see their account activity and run reports.
Cynthia Webster
April 15, 2020 at 11:01 pmI need to add Local Preacher to my name Cynthia Webster. How can I do that
Matt Chandler
April 16, 2020 at 11:13 amHi Cynthia. Please contact us at https://support.givelify.com/contact so we can best assist you.
Marsha Davis
April 16, 2020 at 6:11 amHow can you deduct from your checking account instead of a credit card?
Matt Chandler
April 16, 2020 at 11:07 amHi Marsha. Currently we do not offer ACH transactions, but that’s a feature we expect to roll out in the next few months.
Linda A Morse
April 16, 2020 at 6:30 pmWhat about per transaction fees? And how much are they?
Matt Chandler
April 16, 2020 at 7:28 pmHi Linda. We do not charge signup or monthly fees, just a low transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30. So for example, if someone donates $100, your church receives $96.80. Also, multiple donations to different giving envelopes (offering, tithe, building fund, etc.) can be made all in one transaction, so then that fee only applies one time. I hope that helps.
Laurie Nash
April 20, 2020 at 1:55 pmThis is Laurie Nash. I accidently pressed 1, 000 I meant to press 100.00 please subtract the 1, 000.00!!!
Norman c green
May 9, 2020 at 4:21 pmThanks for your help from AWARENESS AND BALANCE FOUNDATION.
william c little
May 24, 2020 at 2:20 pmHow do I look up my history of giving? for taxes and total of the year.
Allison Weaver
June 4, 2020 at 3:06 pmHi William,
Thank you for commenting! To look up your giving history, you will open the Givelify app, tap on Profile at the bottom right corner of your screen, and then tap on History. This will show your full giving history listed by date, and you can also export the information to your email address on that page. Thank you again for reaching out!
Pastor Lowe
May 30, 2020 at 12:08 pmWill fees go up later or they locked in ?
Allison Weaver
June 4, 2020 at 3:07 pmHi Pastor,
Thank you for your comment! Our transaction fee will remain at 2.9% + $.30.
Sharon Sue Pedersen
May 31, 2020 at 1:24 pmIs there a way for the church member to donate the fee also?
Allison Weaver
June 4, 2020 at 3:00 pmHi Sharon,
Thank you for your comment! At this time, we are working on building the ability for members to cover the fee. In the meantime, donors can calculate the amount of the fee and add that amount onto their donation amount. Once the feature is released, they will then be able to do so automatically through the app. Thank you again for your comment!
Monique
June 1, 2020 at 8:48 pmJust wanted to say our church have been using Givelify for about 5 years and we love it. It so convenient.
Allison Weaver
June 4, 2020 at 2:59 pmHi Monique! Thank you so much for the kind words. We are glad to hear that you enjoy using Givelify.
Norman Green
June 4, 2020 at 3:24 pmThis is absolutely the truth
DEVERA BARNHART
June 21, 2020 at 10:47 pmOur organization (Ministers’ Wives and Ministers’ Widows) would like to use Givelify for donations but we don’t have a website. Can we just use the app?
Basha Coleman
July 8, 2020 at 12:40 pmHi Devera,
Yes, you can use the app and any social media pages you have like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Here is a guide on how to promote your Givelify account through social media: https://support.givelify.com/knowledgebase/can-find-givelify-online-giving-links-post-emails-social-media-2/
^Basha
E J
June 23, 2020 at 10:09 amHello how can I track my giving?
Basha Coleman
July 8, 2020 at 12:38 pmHi EJ,
You can track your giving through the Givelify app. Visit this support article for step-by-step instructions to locate your giving history. https://support.givelify.com/knowledgebase/how-do-i-get-a-report-of-the-donations-i-made/
^Basha
Penelope Troutman Bellamy
July 18, 2020 at 11:02 amHello, I would like to know if you can donate to more than one church on the account you set up?
Basha Coleman
July 20, 2020 at 9:28 amHi Penelope,
Yes! Donors using the Gvelify app can donate to as many churches and nonprofits as they’d like. Whenever you feel inspired to give, use Givelify!
^Basha
Takiyah
September 23, 2020 at 5:46 pmHello,
I wanted to know do donations have to be made by bank account or credit cards. We have a lot of seniors in our congregation and they use bank accounts mostly or cash. Also we don’t have a website or any social media is there a way for the members to donate to the church.
Basha Coleman
September 24, 2020 at 1:27 pmHi Takiyah,
Thanks for reaching out, I’m happy to help. We can best help you via phone, please give us a call at 317 663 3088 at your earliest convenience. If you are not yet signed up with Givelify, your church can do so for free today at givelify.com/signup. Donors can give via credit or debit card through our app for free.
^Basha