Digitally collecting tithes, offerings, and donations is a smart move all places of worship can make. Not only is it easy to set up and inexpensive (or free!), it opens the door for new opportunities for giving. While a collection basket may still be valuable and symbolic, it’s essential to give digitally-savvy parishioners a unique and simple way to donate. 

What’s the best way to collect money digitally for churches?

There are so many different donation methods out there, so it’s crucial to think about how your parishioners want to donate. Most are happy to give; they just don’t carry cash or checkbooks wherever they go. Therefore, an online platform may be the best way to go. According to research, churches that accept tithing online increase overall donations by 32%.

Churches and places of worship need one central and dedicated place to collect money for tithes and offerings, mission trips and services projects, church fundraisers, repairs, supplies, and more. That’s where Braid comes in—it’s a safe and secure way to pool money and allow your congregation to donate online quickly. 

Here’s how Braid works, in a few easy steps:

  1. Download the app 
  2. Create a pool dedicated to your place of worship. 
  3. Share the money pool’s custom link with parishioners so they can easily donate straight from their phones.
  4. Spend from the pool. Fund church events, repairs, service projects, mission trips, and more directly from the pool.

Now, let’s cover some specific ways where Braid Money Pools can come in handy for your place of worship’s operations and financial goals. 

Ready to start your money pool? Click here

Easily collect weekly church tithes & offerings 

Regular donation collections are often called tithes. Most churches promote tithing, whether it’s a percentage of an individual’s income or a set donation dropped in a basket passed around during the service.

Collecting church tithes and offerings is something your church’s staff does every week. And in the case of Sundays or important holidays, depositing cash and checks can be a cumbersome, time-consuming, and overall inefficient way to fund your church. 

Enter your place of worship’s custom Braid Pool Link. When parishioners and churchgoers click on the Pool Link, they can pay their weekly tithes and offerings from their phones. Anyone with a debit card or credit card can contribute to the Braid Money Pool.

All of the money collected ends up in one place. That means no more funneling different donations between accounts or spending lots of time making deposits.

Transform the Church Treasurer role to digital using Braid

The role of the Church Treasurer revolves around helping the church maintain solid financial footing. Here are a few of the responsibilities of a Church Treasurer:

Collecting weekly tithes: Tithes are usually collected through a basket passed around during the service or online. 

Donation receipts: Some churchgoers donate through checks and need receipts, so it’s the role of the Church Treasurer to prepare them. 

Money handling: Any handling of money, especially cash, is usually done in the presence of another person, such as a Deacon. Then, they must deposit cash to the church’s bank as soon as possible. 

Bank reconciliation: Bank reconciliation is key to financial accuracy, so Church Treasurers must do bookkeeping tasks regularly. 

Payroll: Church Treasurers often handle payroll for the church’s full-time or contract employees. They also need to handle reimbursements for things like mileage or supplies. 

Fundraisers: Many places of worship have a fundraising chair, but Church Treasurers are still heavily involved in important fundraisers. They mainly help with planning, budgeting, money handling, and depositing. 

Financial reports: Church Treasurers are typically responsible for running financial reports detailing expenses and income, as well as budget presentations. 

Taxes & year-end: The Church Treasurer is in charge of arranging audits, preparing tax forms for employees, providing tax statements to donors, and submitting statements to the IRS. 

As you can see, there are a lot of tasks on the Church Treasurer’s plate. Using a money pool app helps to streamline financial operations and digitally transform the role of Church Treasurer for 3 reasons: 

1. One central place to gather contributions

Anyone with a debit card and your custom Braid link can contribute to the pool. That means all your millennial and Gen Z members who don’t carry around cash or checkbooks can easily donate to the pool, straight from their phones. 

2. No more tiresome reimbursements

Church staff members can easily use Braid to spend from the pool instead of gathering receipts and requesting reimbursements. Church Treasurers will spend less time paying staff members back for supplies, repairs, fundraising efforts, and more. 

3. Set permissions and roles within the pool 

Assign admin roles and permissions to staff members within the pool. For example, you can assign an admin position to the Fundraising Chair to make purchases for fundraising events straight from the pool. 

Raise money for church fundraisers 

Churches thrive on fundraising events. Whether it’s silent auctions, direct mail appeals, bake sales, or community events, fundraising is essential for a church’s operations. 

Since we’ve been talking about paying for fundraisers, let’s talk about setting up your fundraiser using Braid. 

  1. Create a money pool for the fundraiser. For example, “Rise Church Candle Drive.”
  2. Send the Pool Link to churchgoers and parishioners so they can donate. You can share the link through your church’s Sunday newsletter, through email blasts, social media posts, and more. 
  3. Collect contributions and pay for future church-related purchases directly from the pool. 

What makes Braid different from other online donation platforms? 

Other money collection platforms have long setup processes, high transaction fees, and rigid recurring donation options. They also tend to be slower to receive the funds. All in all, other platforms provide a more disjointed donation experience, with the place of worship having to foot the bill for processing fees. 

None of the issues are relevant when you use Braid to collect contributions. Braid’s Money Pool service has no fees, so your church won’t be charged processing fees when you collect money from parishioners. It also has no cap on donations, and setting up a Braid account, and custom money pool takes minutes.

If you’re looking for an easy tool to collect contributions for church expenses, look no further than Braid.