Last updated 13th July 2020

Online and Contactless Giving

As fewer people carry cash, more and more churches are using standing orders to replace giving by the traditional cash envelope for regular givers as well as making providing online giving and contactless card readers available for those who do not have standing orders set up.  This lets donors choose the method that is most convenient for them.

Standing Orders

Consider adding a standing order form to your website or A Church Near You page for people to download and complete.  There is a template you can use here which just needs the text in red replacing with the details for your church.  A Gift Aid form is also attached which people can choose to complete and return to you.  Where donors are unable to set these up online or visit their local bank branch they can post them to their own bank (address details for the branch or head office should be on bank statements or in cheque books).

Contactless Card Readers

Many churches now provide contactless card readers to enable visitors who do not carry cash to give in a way that suits them.  If you set up online giving as explained below, you can order a card reader for your church as part of the process and you can find out more from the Church of England's Parish Buying website here.  Many churches start with a Sum-Up machine using either Wi-Fi or a moble phone with a data sim although there are options for churches without Wi-Fi or phone signals.  For more information, email stephanie.rankin@blackburn.anglican.org.

Online Giving - Introduction

Now it is also easy to enable people to give by card through a link on your website, social media page, email footer or A Church Near You page.  You can also create a QR code that can be added to a streamed service so that people can hover their phone over the code on their screen and be taken directly to your giving page as well as displayed on a poster in your building. 

There are many ways of doing this, but for parishes without an existing method of enabling online giving by debit or credit card, the quickest and simplest way will be through the partnership between the Church of England, Sum-Up and Give a Little.  Many parishes have Sum-Up machines so already have a Sum-Up account and a Give a Little account, but even if you don't, you can open an account with Sum-Up and create the necessary accounts to enable people to give online (and if you tick the box to say you have a Sum-Up machine you shouldn't even need to buy one, though you might find it useful).

Online Giving - Example 

To see how easy it is to give once the account has been created, click here or use your phone camera or QR code reader to hover over the QR code on the right to see an account we created.

Setting up an online giving account for your church

There are three simple steps to create an account like this for your parish:  Full details can be found here.  If you do not have a log in for Parish Buying you will need to set one up as part of the process which will also ensure that you receive the specially negotiated transaction rates of 1.95% which is competitive for online giving.

• We recommend following Steps 1, 2 and 3 here as the guidance provides full details and should answer all your questions.  There are 4 films.  The first is the next 3 combined, so watching the first one will help you to understand the process before you start.  Then work through steps 1, 2 and 3, watching each film and reading the additional information and guidance for each step as you go.
• A short animation has been produced which you can add to your website or use in an online service.  This can be customised if you wish.  More information about how to download and use this can be found here. THIS HAS NOW BEEN UPDATED AND IS SUITABLE FOR BOTH ONLINE SERVICES AND WHERE CHURCHES ARE MEETING FACE TO FACE.
• If you are streaming services you can include information about why we give and ways to give as well as adding a slide to help people find your giving page

Promoting your Online Giving

• A short video 'Promoting your online giving page' has ideas for promoting through A Church Near You/Church website, FaceBook page, during virtual services and when churches are holding services, as well as in emails and newsletters, and there are further sugegstiosn on the same page.
• If you are streaming services you can include information about why we give and ways to give as well as adding a slide to help people find your giving page.
• As our churches reopen, here is an example of a poster that you could adapt and display to enable people to give without needing to use cash or touch a contactless reader.  There is a template in word here.
• If you have notice sheets or single use service sheets you could include the QR code on these together with an explanation of why we give and how to give this way, as well as reminding people of the standing order option for regular donations.
• On 24^th June 2020 Archdeacon Mark recorded a 5-minute talk about Costly Worship.  This could be included within a service or you might use some ideas from this in your own services or bulletins.  You can find the YouTube clip here.

For more information about this or other giving and stewardship resources please email stephanie.rankin@blackburn.anglican.org