Picture this: a faithful parishioner comes to Sunday service ready to worship and praise. When it comes time to pass the offering plate, they reach into their pockets to give faithfully.
Only…this passionate participant of your church has no cash on hand because only four out of 10 people carry cash these days. Now, they’re stuck with no easy and quick way to give to the church that means so much to them.
That’s where a church giving kiosk comes in to save the day. Giving kiosks – also known as donation kiosks – help churches capture more in-person, cashless donations than ever before using credit cards, smartphones, and smartwatches (a.k.a., what your church visitors have in their pockets).
If you’re looking to learn more about the basics of this valuable tool, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about adding a cashless giving kiosk to your church.
What is a Giving Kiosk?
A giving kiosk is a stationary or portable piece of technology that collects donations using credit cards, smartphones, and smartwatches. They provide an exceptional, user-friendly experience that can be either completely self-guided or facilitated by a volunteer or staff member.
Typically, kiosks are made up of a tablet and card reader paired with a powerful card-reading app, like the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app.
5 Benefits of Church Giving Kiosks
From boosted donations to easier tracking – and much more – there are many perks to having the ability to accept cashless donations quickly and effortlessly anywhere and anytime! Here are our top five benefits of having a church giving kiosk.
1. Convenience
Giving kiosks add a significant level of convenience for your church donors. They can easily tap, dip, or swipe their preferred payment method and complete their donation in just a couple of clicks.
Plus, collecting digital donations through a giving kiosk for churches allows your staff to avoid dealing with more cash and checks. Funds you collect are available in just a couple of days, without a reconciliation and trip to the bank.
2. Increased Donations
Remember our story above about the faithful giver with no cash? If you don’t have an easy, cashless giving option, you may be missing out on increasing donations that will ultimately help your church grow – and allow you to reach more people.
3. Security
When you take your in-person giving to the digital space, you’re protecting both your church and your donors.
With a church giving kiosk, there is no longer a need to store cash and checks with sensitive information at your church, where they could get lost or stolen. Plus, your donors can rest assured that their information is being protected through secure payment methods like tap to pay.
4. Tracking
Let’s face it – church accounting isn’t always easy, especially if a big chunk of your gifts come through cash or checks. Collecting more donations through a giving kiosk helps you track the success of your fundraising efforts, keep an eye on your finances, and understand when and how your donors prefer to give.
5. More donor data
A church donation kiosk is also a great way to collect more information about your donors than you would be able to if they were just putting cash into an offering plate. You can collect information like names and emails to build lasting relationships with your donors and keep them coming back again and again.
5 Steps to Implement a Giving Kiosk for Churches
Ready to launch your own church giving kiosk? With the right team and the right tools, it doesn’t need to be difficult! Follow these five steps to set up your own donation kiosk and start collecting cashless in-person donations with ease.
1. Identify a need
First, you need to determine if you need a church giving kiosk. Most churches with in-person services, classes, and small groups do need an easy way to collect cashless gifts. But if you aren’t sure, or if your church leaders need more justification, you can try surveying your congregants with the following questions:
- How often do you bring cash to give during weekly service?
- What is your opinion on our current giving options?
- Are there any specific types of donations you wish you could make?
This is a great opportunity to revamp your church fundraising in other ways, too!
2. Establish a budget
Next, determine your budget for your kiosk. Most church giving kiosks will require the following materials:
- A tablet
- A card reader
- An app to streamline the process of collecting and tracking donations
Consider how many kiosks you may need, too. Do you have multiple areas in your church where a giving kiosk would make sense? Factor this into your budget.
3. Choose a church donation kiosk app
Finding the right kiosk app will make collecting cashless donations easy and secure. This will impact your budget, too, so look for an app that gives you the most bang for your buck.
Ideally, your chosen church kiosk app will have the following qualities:
- Pairs with a card reader that allows for dips, taps, and swipes
- Allows donors to choose their giving amount
- Collects donor information like name and email
- Works with your preferred tablet
The Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app seamlessly does all of the above. Plus, if you use Donorbox MinistryMomentum for your other fundraising needs, you can track all fundraising and donor data in one place. Learn more about Donorbox’s features.
4. Find the ideal placement
Once you have the materials for your church giving kiosk, it’s time to find the best placement possible. This might take some experimentation!
To receive as many donations as possible, put your donation kiosk in a high-traffic area with good visibility. Ideal locations include any vestibules or lobbies at your church or directly in front of your sanctuary entrance.
5. Track your success
Your church leaders and stakeholders will want to see how successful this new initiative is. Be sure to keep an eye on how many donations you get, when you receive them, and how much people are donating. This data will help you determine if your kiosk is in the right place and how much return on investment (ROI) you’ll see – your church does need to make money, after all!
5 Creative Ways to Use A Donation Kiosk
In addition to collecting donations, you can use a church donation kiosk for a variety of creative tasks. Here are five creative ways to get the most out of your giving kiosk.
1. Accept donations from the community
Your church giving kiosk is a powerful tool for accepting donations within your worship space. But you can take your kiosk beyond the doors of your church to raise funds from the community, too!
For example, if your church participates in a local festival or fair, having a kiosk on hand allows anyone who feels compelled to give to do so. Hosting a trivia night or other fundraising event? Bring your church kiosk along!
2. Sell products
Selling products like merchandise, concessions, books, or other educational materials is a great way to bring money into your church. Use your kiosk to collect cashless payments for these items.
3. Collect payments for tickets
When it’s time for your next concert or Christmas pageant, easily sell tickets in person with your cashless giving kiosk. If your kiosk app allows you to add information about your donors, too, you can easily track who has purchased tickets on the backend – which makes planning your event a breeze.
Bonus: Donorbox Events makes it easy to sell tickets online, too!
4. Fundraise for a specific cause
Are you raising funds for a new church building? Or an upcoming mission trip? Whatever the specific case may be, you can use your church donation kiosk to collect donations for that campaign. Simply create a different fundraising campaign so you know which donations are meant for which purpose.
5. Make tithing easy
Want to turn more of your loyal congregants into regular tithers? You could create a special tithing station in your church with a donation kiosk and information about tithing. This allows you to capture those tithes before congregants leave your church – and forget to give on their own.
Conclusion
As a church leader, you know the importance of meeting your parishioners where they’re at through relatable sermons, thoughtful touches, and a strong community. So why not continue that trend by providing giving options that suit their preferences?
As time goes on, fewer and fewer people who walk through your doors are going to be carrying cash – and even fewer will bring checks. Implementing a church giving kiosk enables them to quickly make a meaningful gift using their credit or debit card, smartphone, or smartwatch.
Visit Donorbox MinistyMomentum to learn more about the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app and how you can use it to easily set up your own church donation kiosk. Plus, this innovative fundraising platform offers several additional tools, like recurring giving forms and event ticketing software.
