We just started using the kiosks last fall. So, we don’t even have a full year in yet. Our intent when we implemented the kiosks was to offer people who don’t carry cash or check the ability to give while they’re in the building and to cover the cost of the machines in the first year. I’d say that we’ve satisfied our intent.
Here’s what I can tell you regarding the kiosks. Success with the kiosks depends a lot on your church culture, how the kiosks are rolled out to your congregation, and where the kiosks are placed.
For the 4 months from September through December 2009, we had 63 new General Offering donors give on the kiosks. Their first donations totaled $9,600 with an average gift of $152. These 63 donors subsequently gave $22,000 by the end of the year. Overall we had 226 new donors to the General Offering during the September thru December period. Thus 28% of our new donors came through the kiosk during that period. We took in a total of $95,500 in General offerings on the kiosks in 4 months for an average of $23,900/mo.
This year we’ve had 17 new General Offering donors giving over $1,000 to date. Total new General Offering Donors to date is 143. So, 12% of our new General Offering donors this year came through the kiosk. We’ve taken in $133,880 in General Offerings on the kiosks which is around $30,000/mo.
Fees for the transactions are consistently around 3% of what was given.
For the Period September thru December 2009, the average General Offering donation on the kiosk was $76. For the current year the average is $85 per gift.
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2 comments:
Hi Dave thanks for this! We are a medium sized chuch in Southern California. We do five weekend services and average about 2400 people total for the weekend. We have been considering Kiosks for some time and love to hear success stories. Could you speak a little more about what you mean in regards to the "culture" of the Church? We still pass a basket during our services and receive approximately 15% of our GF giving on-line. The fear is that if we force the congregation into giving solely on-line or through Kiosks we might see a dip in giving. What are you thoughts?
Hey Marty,
That's a great question. When I refer to the church culture, as it relates to giving, I'm talking about whether or not there is an openness to giving with debit and credit cards or digital giving. This culture may determine where the kiosks are placed, how well they are accepted by the congregation, and, ultimately, how much they get used.
There are churches totally open to digital giving with debit and credit cards. They'll put the kiosks in their lobby and the kiosks will be used a lot. There are those who are totally against it and will never use a kiosk. And those who are somewhere in between who may place the kiosk at the back of their bookstore where it probably won't be used.
Where do you think your church falls on that continuum? What would your church members say if you installed giving kiosks in your lobby? Would there be positive or negative feedback? You have to consider those questions because the answers will tell you how successfull you will be with the kiosks.
I think it's important to view the kiosks as an alternative way to give. No one is required to use them. It just gives another option in addition to checks, cash, and online giving.
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