Electronic Giving-How big a deal is it in the typical Catholic parish?

Well in my opinion the answer is: bigger then any "trend" to sweep giving in a long time but not quite as big as everyone would like to believe.

I believe, quite firmly, that every Catholic parish in the nation will have some form of electronic giving in place within five years. The future for the envelope companies that fail to adapt is bleak. However, just like the envelope, electronic giving does not and will not solve every giving problem in a parish.

Sure it improves the frequency of giving, raises the average gift, improves consistency of giving, insulates the parish against the ups and downs of bad weather, seasonal fluctuations in attendance and other factors which currently impact Mass attendance and thus giving.

My earlier post touted the importance of dissociating Mass attendance from giving; electronic giving is an important part of this process.

My concerns however lie in the current belief that by merely introducing electronic giving that financial support in parishes will dramatically improve. It will go up, it will meet the demands of your donors for new methods of giving-but it will not effect the fundamental principals of what motivates donors to give generously.

The parish must still articulate a clear case for giving, must still challenge donors to give robustly, must still encourage increased gifts on a regular basis, must still be good Stewards of the financial resources and present this stewardship in an open and transparent manner.

The parish must still "ASK"! Donors must still be challenged! The mere act of introducing electronic giving does not mean the parish is practicing good Stewardship of Treasure. Introducing electronic giving creates a great vessel for gifts, a new way to give, a convenient way to give, and a great way to introduce the concepts of Intentional Giving (giving of your first fruits) but it DOES NOT replace the core activities that all successful parishes employ annually.

Cunneen offers the most robust electronic giving program in the nation for Catholic Parishes. Our program called Intentional Giving marries the principles of good stewardship to a robust and cost effective electronic giving solution. While it is the strongest electronic giving solution found anywhere in the United States -long term financial success requires more!