An electronic offering plate? Churches join e-giving trend

It’s not usually good etiquette to fiddle with your cellphone during the church service. But if the recent trend in online giving to nonprofits extends to churches, whipping out a smartphone during the collection of tithes and offerings might become a normal Sunday morning scene.

The last two years have seen significant growth in the number of people giving to charitable organizations either online or through a mobile app. A recent study by the Nonprofit Technology Network found that nonprofits saw a 21 percent increase in online giving from the previous year, as well as a 20 percent increase in the overall number of online gifts in 2012.

But is this shift in giving methods translating to churches? Although the study did not include religious organizations, the proliferation of companies set up to help churches make that transition easily and successfully suggests that e-giving to churches may now be at a tipping point.

Most companies offer to provide churches a “turnkey” online giving operation, fully integrated with the church website, providing a link where members can make one-time or recurring donations. Some companies offer a smartphone app that lets users make a donation, often in just a few seconds. Many claim their services will reduce a church’s financial administration burden.

To learn more, I contacted two churches with fairly young congregations, thinking they’d be on the leading edge of the shift to online and mobile giving. Only one of the two made significant use of the online option, suggesting there may be many churches that still prefer traditional giving mechanisms.

“Based on what I see each month, I would estimate that at least 60 percent and probably closer to 75 percent of our giving is through online bill pay or PayPal,” said Matthew Balogh, an elder at Aletheia Church in Tampa, Fla., a vibrant, young congregation that began as a campus ministry to the University of South Florida. With online bill pay, members can set up a recurring draft from a bank account that automatically sends a paper check to the church every month.

Balogh said his members find PayPal to be both simple to use and familiar, since it’s frequently used in many other funds transfer situations.

“PayPal takes about 3 percent of any payments or gifts, but this is a relatively small percentage for the value it provides,” Balogh said.

CrossPointe Church in Columbus, Ga., with 450 adult members, 80 percent of whom are under age 45, only receives between 20 and 25 percent of its offerings through online bill pay or the church website.

“We have never made a public push for the congregation to give in that way instead of the more traditional offering,” said senior pastor Brad Evangelista, who believes seeing the physical act of giving is a part of the worship service.

“The act of giving is part of our response to God, and that physical element being part of our service is a helpful component, even if over the years our congregation may eventually become more digital or electronic,” Evangelista said.

Pinterest attracts more male users

If you thought Pinterest was a niche site targeted to women who want to share pictures of craft ideas, recipes, and cute outfits, think again.

Last month, the wildly popular social media site revealed that its male audience is growing more rapidly than its female one, with men accounting for one-third of all sign-ups on the site. Pinterest said it had doubled the number of active male users during the past year.

So, are men using Pinterest differently than women? The answer seems to be yes.

“Women use Pinterest as a wish list, men use Pinterest as a shopping cart,” wrote Jay Baer, social media commentator. “Women are using Pinterest in a far more aspirational and motivational way than are men, who are more likely to use Pinterest like a visual bookmarking tool.”