The Future of Giving is Hybrid
The following post can be found at: https://www.onlinegiving.org/blog.
The Hybrid Church is here to stay, and we now know that the future of giving is hybrid. In the future, we can “expect that post-pandemic giving and fundraising will likely remain hybrid, as the adaptation of digital and hybrid giving models will augment crucial human interactions.” That was the conclusion of a study published by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.
The post was entitled Digital for Good: A Global Study on Emerging Ways of Giving. It reports on the 2022 Global Philanthropy Environment Index (GPEI) findings. That report showed that “the Covid-19 pandemic transformed philanthropic activities to nonprofit organizations and social business introduced new and innovative ways of fundraising, often based on digital solutions.”
In a section called Technological innovation and digitalization have led to new ways of giving, the post states, “In the last five years, philanthropy has become more digital, instant, and democratized than ever before. Technological innovations and new donation initiatives have the potential to change the mindset and behavior of everyday donors and strengthen philanthropy across the globe.”1.
The Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, part of the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, recently reported that “the more a church emphasized online and electronic giving, the greater their per capita giving rose. Congregations in our study without online giving had a per capita annual giving of $1,809, those with “a little use” saw giving rise to $2,052, “some use” jumped to $2,388, and “a lot of use” resulted in per capita giving of $2,428 – almost a 30% increase over those not using it. Not only has online giving increased since the pandemic but it is being given greater emphasis now. Only 31% of churches reported using online giving in 2015, and just 8% did so a lot, whereas in 2023, 67% do so, and nearly half (48%) use this method a lot.”2.
The Lake Institute found that how a church offers worship can also impact giving. The article states, “The small percentage of churches (1.5%) that only provide worship online have a median size of 10 persons per capita giving of $691. A church that chooses to offer only in-person worship (25%) averages a median attendance of 35 and per capita giving of $2,048. However, 73% of churches offer a hybrid model of worship with both in-person and virtual participation. These hybrid congregations have an average size of 90 people in worship and per capita giving of $2,350. Therefore, in terms of strengthening the congregation with attendance and giving, hybridity seems to be the strategic choice.”
At the same time, they report that traditional methods of giving have not and will not go away, at least for the foreseeable future. The Lake Institute study says, “Likewise, the per capita giving rates across this hybrid church spectrum show considerable variation. The greater the in-person over virtual ratio, the larger the per capita giving amount. In other words, in-person attendees give more than their virtual counterparts. Virtual attendees are more likely to be passive spectators than active and engaged participants in the church’s life and coffers. Financially, the best option would be a church that promoted an online worship option but had a large majority of attendees participating in person.”
The Lake study concludes, “The more willing a church is to change and adapt, the greater likelihood it will envision a positive future.” At OnlineGiving.org, we have embraced that the future of giving is hybrid. We offer multiple ways by which your members can give to your church. We even offer our clients a fast and seamless way to process checks. See more in this post:
https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/announcing-our-new-check-scanning-capability
While online giving has increased dramatically in the last three years, these reports show the importance of allowing attendees to give via their favorite commerce method. Keeping up with all the various options could be confusing. We help avoid confusion by keeping you current with the newest technology available. Here is what one of our clients had to say about us:
“OnlineGiving.org is continually improving. It is not this thing that is static. I see new things every time I visit the site and look over the dashboard. I see improvements, new features, better reporting, etc. All the main things we want we are getting with OnlineGiving.org. When you have that, why then go through the process of switching to another platform?” Michah Flashman, Vox Church, New Haven CT
At OnlineGiving.org, we know how quickly things can change, so our platform is never static and always adds new features. To learn how our platform and features can help increase your hybrid giving, contact us at (615) 206-4000 or support@onlinegiving.org. The future of giving is hybrid, and the future is now!
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