By now, you know that your church website needs to be mobile-friendly. The trends in mobile usage demand it. In fact, mobile internet usage is predicted to exceed desktop internet usage as soon as 2014 (Microsoft Tag). With more and more people accessing the Internet through their mobile devices to bank, shop, and make purchases, you need to ensure that you also have a mobile-friendly giving page.
The good news is that having a mobile-friendly giving option does not require you to sign up for a text-to-give program nor to develop a mobile application (although mobile giving apps do exist). There are web designers and payment processing providers who can create a mobile version of your giving page, so when donors access your giving page using a mobile device they will be automatically directed to a mobile giving page that displays correctly on the device.
A good mobile giving page should be an extension of your regular online giving page and have the same features and functionality including:
- Acceptance of all payment methods (credit, debit, and eChecks/EFT)
- Standard deposit timeframe of 48-72 hours
- Secure, encrypted transactions
- Option to set up recurring donations
- Customizable giving categories and the ability to split gifts between these categories
- Sophisticated reporting to track all mobile gifts
Some payment providers also include a donor login with stored accounts, so card data does not have to be passed over the wireless networks. This option allows for more secure mobile giving, reducing risk for you and your donors.
In addition to the shift toward mobile dominance, there are a few other mobile giving statistics that point toward the need for a mobile-friendly giving page:
- Average donation amount is $170 (higher than the $125 average online donation)
- eChecks account for 12% of all gifts
These numbers, based on a MinistryLINQ mobile giving report, demonstrate how important it is to give your donors as many giving options as possible, whether it be the channel (online, mobile, in-person) or the method (credit, debit, eChecks), to maximize your overall giving.
When it comes to giving, the key is to meet your donors where they are, and a lot of them are on their phones non-stop. Making giving convenient for them through a channel they are familiar with will help boost your giving. And while giving should be convenient for your donors, it must also be practical for your Church; a mobile giving page fulfills both of these needs.
Reba says
Do you know of a good service that provides mobile friendly? Looking into a new option for the church I work at.
Brendan says
Yeah, I’d love to hear about good options. I volunteer to help a Malawian orphanage with their website and would love to know how to better their online donation setup.
Nicole Vander Meulen says
Brendan – the same is true for you. MinistryLINQ has great options to get online donations set up on the orphanage’s web site. Feel free to call 800.811.7826 or contact me directly ([email protected]) for more details on how we can help.
Nicole Vander Meulen says
Hi Reba,
At MinistryLINQ, we provide a mobile-friendly giving solution called DonateQ. You can visit ministrylinq.com or call us @ 800.811.7826 for more information. Please let me know if there’s anthing else I can provide.
Nicole Vander Meulen
Eric Dye says
Good question. We need to look into this … 🙂
Keith Alberts says
This is a great article Nicole and you are absolutely right. Easy mobile donations are needed.
There are many great tools, but the one I work with is WeShare which is optimized for mobile usage – try http://demo2.weshareonline.org from your smart phone.