Donation Apps: How Going Mobile Can Help Year-End Giving

The holiday months bring in the majority of church and nonprofit donations for the entire year. Donors are more inclined to give money as the year draws to a close.  It’s a good thing, too. Without those year-end donations, many organizations would stay in the red.

Year-end giving already puts the previous months’ donations to shame. But how can you get those numbers even higher? How can you make sure you end up in the black at the end of December? Add mobile donation apps to the mix.

Widen the Pool of Donors

By sticking with the same old donation channels, your organization will only reach the same donors. New channels, on the other hand, bring more potential givers.

One in every five people has a smartphone (Business Insider). It’s time to tap into that massive market. Mobile apps are the obvious choice.

Text-to-Give vs Donation Apps

While 90% of American adults have cell phones, only 9% have used them to send a text message donation (Pew Internet). The potential is there, but text-to-give is not activating all of those donors.

One thing is for sure: mobile apps are the future. According to a study by Flurry, people spend more time in apps than they do on the mobile web. Donation apps can capitalize on the popularity of smartphone applications. They can pull in those remaining mobile users who haven’t been so keen on texting their donations.

Keep It Simple

With other forms of giving, the donor has a lot to remember:

Don’t leave your checkbook at home.

Don’t forget to mail in that pledge card.

Remember to call in during the telethon.

Memorize that text-to-give shortcode.

Donation apps, on the other hand, keep it simple. Once the app is downloaded, the only thing left to do is give. The app will remain on the device for future donations. The giver won’t have to look anything up. They won’t have to phone a friend.

The ability to give will be right in their hand, where it belongs.