Sunday Isn’t the Only Day Your Church Wants to Give

The focus on giving for many churches is between 9 and 11 on Sunday mornings—but could that be placing a limitation on offerings? When would your church members prefer to give? By having a better understanding of people’s giving habits and preferences, you can improve upon the giving experience and get more donations.

When we looked at the latest numbers from churches using Pushpay giving apps, we discovered some interesting trends. We put together this infographic to help you understand the changes in church giving and develop a strategy that can take your church’s generosity to another level.
Some takeaways:

Sunday Is Still the #1 Day for Giving

It’s no surprise that most giving (27 percent) happens on Sunday morning. But that means that 73 percent of all giving comes in during the rest of the week. With all the focus we give to teaching and passing the plate on Sundays, you’d think it would be the opposite!

Friday is the next-highest day with 15 percent. This can likely be tied to people setting up recurring giving to come out on their payday—which many businesses still give out on Fridays.

People Give All Day Long

Another interesting trend relates to when giving happens during the day. It’s surprising to find that 20 percent of all giving happens between 7 and 10 AM. The second most popular time to give (17 percent) happens between 6 and 9 PM. It would seem that a large number of people are giving before or after work.

But when you put those two together, that’s only a little more than a third of the time. The rest of the people are sharing their gifts during their lunch hours, or even late at night!

When Do People Give During the Month?

If you look at all the giving done during the month, about 21 percent of it is on the 1st, the 15th, or the 30th/31st—with the highest percentage (10 percent) occurring on the month’s last day.

While 21 percent might not seem like a high percentage, it’s actually significant when you consider that they have 30+ days in the month to give. To have a fifth of that giving fall on one of those three days tells us that people want their giving to coincide with their other budgetary considerations.

Stop Expecting Giving to Happen Only on Sunday

The idea that people are resistant to church giving is a myth. We’ve found that people want to be generous, and when you back up your teaching with tools that enable them to give when and how they feel most comfortable, they will.

An easy-to-use mobile giving solution takes away all of the generosity roadblocks. People can give in a way that’s consistent with the tools they’re using for the rest of their budget when it makes the most sense to them. In fact, they can make a one-time choice to be generous and opt for a set-it-and-forget it model by using recurring giving!

You Need an App People Will Use

Maybe you’re thinking: “We started using a text-to-give app last year, and it hasn’t changed how people give.” If that’s the case, you’re not alone. Many churches do have a mobile or text giving option, but only a small percentage of the people are using it.

That’s why it’s important to have an app that you can get your church excited about. When churches have started using Pushpay (which powers Pushpay’s Total Engagement Package), they’ve found that 76 percent of their congregation uses the app. Why? Because we know how important it is to get your people invested in a new giving solution, and we’ve developed a foolproof adoption strategy for churches.

As we’ve seen time and time again, teaching your church to get on board with a new giving solution unlocks generosity in your church, and that leads to growth!