Where is your treasure?  That is a question our staff at Donor Depot has been asking lately.  Come to find out the churches we serve have been asking this question for centuries.  What we have discovered is the church has always believed where your treasure is there is where your heart, energies and what you value can be found.  

Traditionally the church has always believed 10% belongs to God.  Simply stated, you make a dollar and ten cents goes in the offering plate. Trouble is the world is always evolving faster than most can keep up with.  What we have done at Donor Depot is create a program called our First Harvest Auto Give Program where church members can give electronically out of their credit card, debit card or checking account and still keep in perspective the traditional worship experience that is associated with giving to the church for centuries.  Our program allows your members to enroll via print insert (paper form) and your website.

If you are considering starting an electronic tithe program for your church or synagogue here are a few things to keep in mind:

Make sure the provider you are working with accepts all major credit cards, debit cards and ACH drafts as methods for payment
Strongly consider going with a processor that can easily upgrade your church into a CRM software system to better manage member relationships and contact information as your church grows (many churches want this immediately)
Verify that the processor creates envelopes that correspond with your online giving form and allow your church members to sign up during the weekly worship service.
Make sure the processing rates are consistent with the industry rates for nonprofits and churches (hint: it should be less than a typical business).
Make sure you can easily access reports online to monitor the growth of your new giving program and can make adjustments to your members giving.

Let us help your church pull together an electronic auto tithe program that is both easy to maintain and convenient for your members.  

Blake Fite is president and co-founder of Donor Depot.  We specialize in helping nonprofits and churches to develop relational technology tools to help them fulfill their mission.  Blake can be contacted via phone at 918.409.5997 or email him at  blake@donordepot.com.