Increase your parish online giving results with these cost-efficient strategies

Apr 24, 2023 by

Brandon Duncan

Online giving has become an essential tool for faithful Catholics to support the needs of parish communities everywhere.

But with the rise of online giving comes the dreaded challenge of those pesky "processing fees." Nobody wants to see a significant chunk of their donations eaten up by fees, especially smaller parishes that might not have the resources to absorb them. 

Fear not! In this blog post, we'll dive into a few ways to help reduce (or even eliminate) processing fees, so you can maximize the benefits of online giving for your parish.
 

1

Choose an online giving solution with no regular or hidden fees

eCatholic stands out from other competitors who lack transparency and impose monthly, annual, or hidden fees. To stand by our word, we have eliminated our $20 monthly fee* for all newcomers to our Online Giving & Payments platform. This allows parishes to fully leverage the advantages of our robust online donation tools without worrying about the extra costs. The benefits can hardly be topped!
 

2

Allow donors the option to cover processing fees

Any solid online giving tool will allow you to choose whether or not to give donors the option to cover processing fees. If you decide to ask donors to cover these fees, it can have a significant impact on your parish's finances. Not only will more of the donated funds go directly to supporting the parish, but it also gives your most faithful stewards the opportunity to support the community in a meaningful way. 

If you decide to enable this option, consider adding a message to your giving landing page or explaining how it benefits your parish in an upcoming email newsletter or pulpit announcement. Remember, communication is key when it comes to building a culture of giving and stewardship in your parish. 

3

Boost your donors' giving potential with ACH transfers

Offering ACH transfers as an option to your online giving form is a fantastic approach to lower processing fees. Keep in mind, ACH transfers boast the lowest fees among payment methods (only 1%), making them a win-win for you and your donors.

Letting your donors give via ACH is a breeze on your eCatholic website! Just head to your Donation Form settings to enable this option. Once active, donors can select ACH as their go-to payment method when preparing to make a single or recurring online gift to your parish.

Indeed, the generosity of your donors can make a world of difference for your community, so let's make every penny count! Start maximizing the giving potential of your donors by putting these strategies into practice with eCatholic Online Giving.

(*New Payment customers only.)