Offering Envelopes Still Work for Church Giving

While digital giving options are extremely important, people still use envelopes on the spot to give to a local church.  So in addition to new tools, don’t abandon what some consider old school.  Old school offering envelopes still work.

1. It’s still the top way people give to non-profit organizations.  Your website is extremely important.  Mobile giving is growing. But offering envelopes are still the top tool for giving in the local church.
2. An envelope is a call to action.  An offering envelope is a reminder for people to give.  When you set up the offering, you can reference the envelope and ask people to participate.
3. It is a great way to collect information.  People will write their name, address and email address on the envelope.  This gives you the opportunity to send a thank you note or a contribution statement.

Once you’ve decided to use offering envelopes, here are four ideas on how to make the most of them.

1. Give one to each person every week.  You can put them in each seat or hand them out with the worship guide.
2.  Reference them in the weekly giving talk.  As you explain the offering and ask people to participate, quickly let them know how to use them.
3.  Mail them with quarterly contribution statements.  If people have a few envelopes at home, they can prepare to give in advance.
4.  Make special envelopes for special days.  If you do an Easter or a Christmas offering, create a special offering.  Changing up the envelope is a simple way to make an offering special and make it easy for people to participate.

If you want to take your offering envelopes to the next level, here are a few ideas.

1. Create postage paid envelopes.  You can work with the post office to create postage paid, fold over envelopes.  This makes it really easy for people to drop their offering in the mail. 
2. Provide a space for people to put their bank account information.  If you use security envelopes (the fold over kind), people can use an old school envelope to set up a recurring, digital transaction.
3. Print a QR code that takes people to an online giving page.  

Offering envelopes still work and they are a great way to encourage generosity in your church.