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Faith Leaders 5min read

4 Types of Church Givers (and How to Keep Them All Happy)

When it comes to church giving, members who contribute come in different forms. Each type has a different mindset and approach to giving, and it’s important that the church consider their wants and needs. Let’s look at how you can mold the most common church giving personas into a congregation full of cheerful givers.

Church Giving 4 Types of Church Donors (and How to Keep Them Happy)

Type #1: Faithful, Regular Givers

Is your ministry is blessed with members who really prioritize giving? This type of contributor comes each week prepared to give, and it’s rare for them to miss a service. Even if you never once mention church giving from the pulpit, they will always be consistent.

How to Keep Them Happy

Some in this group may cling to more traditional cash or check donations, but even these members now embrace modern technology. One way this technology, such as the Givelify® mobile giving platform, can make them even more cheerful givers is by enabling automatic recurring giving.

What happens if one of these members forgets to bring cash or their checkbook to service? Because they have such a heart for faithful giving, they will regret it until they’re able to “make it right” the following week. By using the Givelify app on their phone to set up recurring offerings, they can rest assured that their contributions are being made — even if they’re traveling or stuck at home with the flu.

Church Giving 4 Types of Church Donors (and How to Keep Them Happy)

<<[Watch Webinar Replay] Maximize Easter Generosity: Turn One-Time Givers into Year-Long Supporters>>

Type #2: Long-Distance Givers

Even though they’re far away from your weekly services, an assortment of people still support your ministry:

  • Families traveling on summer vacations
  • Snowbirds who escape to warmer weather in the winter months
  • Missionaries
  • College students
  • Former members who have moved away
  • Deployed military service members

How to Keep Them Happy

While less likely to give on a weekly basis, these pockets of supporters would jump at the chance to show their support from afar through giving. The best solution for long-distance givers is a mobile and online church giving solution like Givelify. With this platform, your supporters can make offerings from anywhere in the world, at any time — as long as they’re carrying a smartphone and have access to the internet.

Plus, you can add a giving button to your church website, add a Donate button to your ministry’s Facebook page, and send out a link to your giving page when you livestream your services. Imagine how pleased your long-distance supporters will be to finally have an easy way to participate in giving!

Church Giving 4 Types of Church Donors (and How to Keep Them Happy)

Type #3: Peer Pressure Givers

Members of this group don’t naturally tend to think about giving. They aren’t the most consistent givers, either. But, as the name implies, things change when they see their peers giving. If the person next to them in the pew gives, they will probably give, too. This group responds particularly well to large, highly visible fundraisers.

How to Keep Them Happy

Want to really pique their interest in giving? Encourage your congregation to pull out their smartphones and give using Givelify during offering. You can even see donations coming in on the Givelify dashboard and thank supporters in real time. When your “peer pressure” members see other people around them use mobile giving to support your ministry, they will likely follow suit.

If you are raising money for a specific cause or taking up a special offering, use Givelify’s Givelithon™ feature to capture their attention. With this feature, you can display a running total of real-time donors without showing the amount they are donating. This allows you to thank donors live and when these “peer pressure” givers see that other members of the congregation are making the numbers move, they will be excited to join in.

Church Giving 4 Types of Church Donors (and How to Keep Them Happy)

Type #4: Forgetful Givers

Earlier, we discussed the regret your faithful givers feel when they forget to bring funds for the offering. But what about the members who forget more often? They have the best intentions, but they have a lot on their plate. They forget the checkbook; they forget to stop at the ATM; they’re busy singing, working with children, or ushering during the offering and didn’t plan ahead on how to give. Whatever the reason, you want to find a way to turn these would-be givers into actual givers.

How to Keep Them Happy

Mobile giving through Givelify enables these forgetful givers to give on-the-spot, and all they need to bring is their phone. Even if they don’t have cash or checks, they probably remembered to grab their smartphone, right? Plus, mobile recurring giving through Givelify enables them to set their offering to go out automatically in the future. Forgetfulness will never have to be a problem again!

A robust digital giving platform provides you with a powerful set of tools that can make life easier for every giving persona in your church. Are all of your supporters excited about their giving options? Do your giving solutions fit their needs? If not, today’s the day to make an upgrade and fill your church with faithful, cheerful givers.

About the Author

Allison has a passion for charitable giving and believes that small acts of kindness can make the world a better place. She uses her web content and social media expertise to guide churches and nonprofits through the mobile fundraising process.

Allison Weaver