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| Some churches have installed a custom-made "giving kiosk" like this one in their lobbies. Courtesy of SecureGive |
Church giving turns digital
To keep up with the times, houses of worship offer electronic payment options.
from the August 1, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"One woman in my own church told me that after seven years, this was the first year they'd made their pledge – after signing up for electronic debit," he says.
Religious institutions can also see a significant increase in donations. According to Msgr. Francis Kelley of Sacred Heart Parish in Roslindale, Mass., signing on to the program of ParishPay (a firm serving Catholic parishes) increased contributions by 75 percent from the parishioners who switched to electronic giving.
Some churches have begun offering credit- and debit-card payments. But use of credit cards has stirred controversy, given the country's massive credit-card debt.
"At first there was a lot of concern that churches were helping people get into greater debt," Mr. Thiede says. "I'm not sure that's gone away totally, but more churches are saying they'll do everything to encourage people to be financially responsible, but leave the decision to them."
Still, some steer clear of the credit-card option. At Christ's Church of the Valley in Phoenix, they've had automated giving for close to three years and make it available online, but they don't take credit cards.
"We went through a series on 'Getting Out of Debt,' and ... talked about getting rid of credit cards," explains Jon Edmiston, the church's director of information technology and communications. "So we didn't want to turn around and say, 'But you can give on your credit card!' "
On the other hand, ParishPay, which went into business in 2001 and serves 8 million parishioners, has found credit-card payments very popular.
"After three years, we surveyed 25,000 families using our service, and 55 percent used a credit card, while 45 percent gave through their bank account," says Tim Dockery, ParishPay's president.
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