In the age of Venmo, Apply Pay, and Paypal—where I can send money to somebody with a few clicks—why is it still so hard to give money to my church? Does your church require you to log in, download an app, fill out the same info over and over again, remember a password, or provide a special code or family ID…just to give them money? Well, here is a much, much better way to do it that will raise you more money, in shorter time, and with fewer complaints from your people.

Flocknote’s approach has always been communications-first. Most churches can’t reach their people when they need to, so we built a tool that made it easy to communicate between members and leadership at a church.

Then, we built Flocknote People to replace old member management tools and to work alongside Flocknote so your members’ data gets better with time, not worse.

Now, our newest feature, Fund It, makes online giving and payments quick, easy, and secure.

Since banks always verify their member’s info via email and text, Flocknote’s email and texting platform is set up perfectly for quick and secure payments! Not only can you request payments and members can give directly where they’re at (their computers and their phones) there are no extra hoops to jump through to create passwords or verify information – it’s just that simple!

Here are three key ways to easily collect payments with Fund It and how it can make your life and ministry easier.

Click-To-Give

No logins. No passwords. No apps to download. Cut out all the extra steps and stress by sending an email to your members with a button they can click to instantly give a gift or make a payment.

Problem: It is difficult for members to give money to their church, they need to find the proper website with the correct link, and then create an account and password, then input all their payment information, and then verify their identity via email or text. And this can happen every time they want to donate!

Solution: Send your members a Smart Button via Flocknote and allow them to click the button to instantly give a gift to one of your funds. The magic is in the second gift. After putting in their payment info one time, every time after they can make a gift or payment in two easy clicks!

Text-To-Give

A great way to quickly and easily raise money via text. This is especially helpful for in-person donations when someone might not have cash. Set a unique keyword with a designated amount to allow members to text that keyword and instantly make a donation.

Problem: Everyone loves coming to the hall for donuts and hospitality after church, but most people don’t carry cash with them to make a small donation.

Solution: Set a simple Text-To-Give keyword like “Donuts” or “Hospitality” that members can text in to instantly make a donation.

Reply-To-Give

This is a game changer and makes donating easier than ever before! Members can simply reply to a text that is asking for money by saying, “Yes”, or with a donation amount and instantly give a gift.

Problem: A Youth Minister needs $5 from every kid for pizza this Friday, but the teens don’t have money and the volunteers don’t have time to track down their parents to ask for a donation.

Solution: Send a Flocknote text asking all the parents if they can donate $5. Parents simply need to reply, “Yes”, and immediately the donation takes place and the teens get their pizza!

Your members want to donate and give money. It’s usually just so inconvenient that people don’t get around to it. Make it easy and you will get more money, much faster, with less effort.

Simple Setup. Straightforward Pricing.

Most online giving tools have complex and costly setups for creating merchant accounts with extra monthly fees. Flocknote makes things simple and budget-friendly by doing all the background work to cut out those extra costs.

• Fund It is included with your regular Flocknote subscription.
• No need to create a separate merchant account.
• No contracts. $0 Setup Fees. $0 Monthly Fees.
• Industry-standard transaction fees:
  • 1.1% + 30¢ per ACH transaction.
  • 2.9% + 30¢ per credit/debit transaction.

Links from the show

• Learn more about how Fund It can help your church raise more money in minutes at flocknote.com/fund-it.
• Matt Warner mentions 3 simple ways your members can give with Fund It:
  • Fundraising with a Smart Button
  • Text-To-Give
  • Reply-To-Give
• Matt Warner mentions using Flocknote for pledges and campaign tracking. Learn more about that HERE.
• Did you find Uno? Send us a photo at howdy@findinguno.com.
• Have a general question about church communication? Submit it to our hotline at Findinguno.com/ask-a-question.

The preaching is boring. The coffee’s too strong. Somebody’s sitting in my pew. The cantor is off key. They put the chairs back in the wrong place! Does any of that sound familiar? How about these: I don’t have time. I’m too busy. There’s no room in the budget. If your community is suffering from any of those kinds of complaints, you’re going to love this episode, because it just might help you fix every one of them.

“Pettiness is the tendency of people without larger purposes.” – George F. Will

When you don’t have something big and important that you’re doing – the little things become the big things. If you want people to stop complaining about all the little things, give them something big and important to do together.

If your goals are small, your member’s commitment will be small, and small things will be able to derail them. You have to elevate the importance of what you’re doing. If little things are derailing your efforts at church, perhaps your church’s vision isn’t big enough yet.

Here are a few questions to reflect on to see if there is something big and meaningful at stake for your church:

• Does it matter if we go to church or not?
• Does it matter if we pass on our faith to our kids?
• Does eternal salvation really weigh in the balance?

All churches believe there is something meaningful at stake, but most churches would do well to better communicate what is at stake to people.

Getting practical:

• Start small. Don’t try and engage the 90% of people who are disengaged. Start by individually reaching out to the 1%. Turn them into evangelizing disciples who in turn reach out to the next 1% and so on.
• Get better at explaining yourself. People passionately follow leaders who have communicated that something they care about is at stake. A great example is politics. Communicate that what you’re doing is what’s best for your members and is worth it, and they will follow.
• Speak clearly about what is at stake. If what you’re saying is vague and doesn’t matter, people might not listen. For example, instead of saying “Donate some money to help the needy” be specific about what is at stake. Try something like, “Can you donate $20 so that this village can have clean water for a year? If we don’t come up with this money, they won’t get clean water.”
• Give before asking. Leaders need to earn the trust of their followers. Before asking your members to do something for you, do something for them. Show your members they will be better off engaging in what you’re doing.

In the presence of a big mission, a battle to fight together, a dragon to slay together, a grand adventure to embark on – the little things tend to disappear.

Links from the show

• In the “People Got Church Problems” segment, Matt Warner references a previous episode which you can watch or listen to here: “Say Less, Communicate More”
• Did you find Uno? Send us a photo at howdy@findinguno.com.
• Have a general question about church communication? Submit it to our hotline at Findinguno.com/ask-a-question.

What makes somebody a leader? And why do people really follow leaders in the first place? In this episode you’ll get four different answers from four different people: The Logician, the CEO, the Analyst, and Jesus. Each perspective offers something unique that will help you grow your flock and lead them somewhere meaningful.

The Logician

There are two questions that people must answer “yes” to in order to follow a leader.

1. Do they want to go where you are going?
2. Do they believe you can get them there?

The simple logic of leadership is communicating a vision your people believe in and having the ability to achieve it.

The CEO

Simply paying employees more doesn’t make them true followers. There are three things the CEO can provide to turn a group of employees into an army of missionaries.

1. Meaningful work
2. Personal growth
3. Sense of ownership

The Church offers all of these in abundance: the most meaningful work there is, the best personal and spiritual insight in making us saints, and the responsibility of caring for our neighbors.

The Analyst

Gallup asked 10,000 people: “What do you want in your leaders?” There were four key traits people said they look for in their leaders.

1. Trust
2. Compassion
3. Stability
4. Hope

Jesus

In John 10:1-5, Jesus gives us an image of why the sheep follow the Shepherd. There are three key takeaways.

1. The Shepherd enters by the door.
2. He calls the sheep by name.
3. The sheep follow the Shepherd because they know his voice.

Leaders don’t take shortcuts, they know each of their followers and call them by name, and their followers listen to them because they know and trust the voice of their leader.

Links from this show: