South Carolina Synod is seeking partnership with congregations in eGiving Project #2. Consider this stewardship opportunity with ELCA preferred giving vendor, Tithe.ly by looking over the Covenant Between Congregation and the South Carolina Synod. Congregations will also explore ways for electronic giving to be an act of worship and not just a transaction. For more information contact Rev. Ozzie Herlong, Director for Stewardship, South Carolina Synod (ovherlong@aol.com) or Cell: (803) 360-1877.
Covenant Between Congregation and South Carolina Synod: eGiving Project #2
Objective
To increase giving within a group of congregations within the South Carolina Synod, and record and measure the impact, to empower other congregations in the SC Synod, and ELCA as a whole.
Expectations (Internal – Tithe.ly/SC Synod)
- Program to launch in 2021 and span 12 months
- Tithe.ly to provide our All Access plan free for 12 months to each congregation in the group. Including:
- Mobile, online, text giving, plus manual gift entry, check scanning and kiosk tool
- Custom church app for every congregation involved
- Tithe.ly Sites
- Event registration
- Tithe.ly Messaging (200 free SMS messages each month, 2.9c per text message after that, unlimited email)
- Tithe.ly ChMS
- ELCA Pricing for after the 12 months is finished: https://get.tithe.ly/elca
- SC Synod to sponsor all giving transaction fees for congregations
- Tithe.ly to enroll each congregation in Tithe.ly Grow 1-on-1 coaching program at no additional cost
- Metrics to track (comparing starting point vs ending point after 12 months):
- Average weekly attendance in-person
- Average weekly attendance online
- Average monthly/yearly income from giving
- Total average giving income
- Average income from online giving
- Average income from “offline” giving (cash/check)
- Average traffic to church website
- Average activity on social media channels (where applicable) – e.g, Facebook/Instagram/Twitter followers, Youtube subscribers, podcast downloads, etc
- Approximate average age demographic of members of congregation
- SC Synod to find ideally 10-15 congregations to enroll in the study, minimum 5, ideally of varying size/demographic/overall adoption of electronic giving and technology
Expectations (For Congregations)
- Overall commitment to be an active participant in the program for the entire 12 month period
- Desire to launch Tithe.ly ASAP. Prepared to launch Tithe.ly Giving, Custom App, Messaging, and, if applicable, Tithe.ly Sites within 45-60 days of program launch
- Committed to be engaged and take ownership of their onboarding and implementation. As mentioned below, we will help them as much as they need, but we can’t do the whole process for them so will need their participation and engagement.
- Meeting at least quarterly with their Tithe.ly Grow coach (Initial kick-off call, and then 3 subsequent follow-up calls), unlimited additional support available as needed
- Willingness to follow Tithe.ly’s recommended launch & implementation framework within the schedule recommended by Grow Coach
- In general, a “glass half full” outlook when it comes to trying new things and having success with online & mobile giving!
