Perpetual Innovation
If Auxilio could give just one piece of practical advice to churches and nonprofits, it would be “Don’t wait to update systems until you are forced to because something is broken or so outdated it is no longer supported.” Instead, we encourage clients and even help them develop a culture of perpetual innovation - embracing small changes and upgrades all along the way to stay at the forefront of what technology and best practices have to offer.
If you’re wondering if there are upgrades your church or organization should consider making, do a quick assessment of your systems in these areas:
Tracking Members/Donors
Do you have a Church Management System [ChMS] or Constituent Relationship Management [CRM], a database of all your contacts, members and donors, that helps you store relevant information and tracks their participation and giving? Have you utilized all it’s functions? Defining and assigning groups, tracking giving and communicating with constituents can all be done through a ChMS or CRM. Embracing all it has to offer can make your work easier and more effective.
Giving
Have you made donating to your organization as easy as possible? Offering multiple ways to give provides preferred avenues for multiple generations and personalities. There is a cost to accepting credit card and ACH donations, but research shows that this cost is well outstripped by how much donations increase when donors can give electronically and set up recurring payments.
Ask those in their 20s and 30s in your church how they’d prefer to give. Remember that you are discipling these young believers to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. As they age, young faithful givers become established stable givers and models for others. Would they be more inclined to give via an app, text-to-give, by PayPal or some other way? Ask your young donors every few years to tailor on-ramps to giving for new givers.
Bookkeeping
If you rely heavily on paper in your bookkeeping, it’s time to reassess. In today’s environment, bookkeeping can be done online and documentation stored and shared in a cloud platform. There’s little need to provide paper documentation anymore. Even receipts and year-end statements can all be emailed. A simple step forward in this area is to develop an electronic filing system and start to shift expectations.
Expense Management
Do you find reporting your expenses and organizing receipts cumbersome? There are solutions available now that greatly reduce that burden. An expense management app that syncs with bookkeeping software will allow you to categorize your expenses and store receipts on the spot. Some will even provide a dedicated credit card.
HOW TO START, HOW TO CONTINUE
If you’re not there yet in most of the above categories, pick one area to start - maybe your greatest pain point. Let me guess - it’s receipts, right? Innovate one area, then another.
If you’re already utilizing these practices in your church or organization’s business operations, the time for innovation isn’t over. Technology is moving quickly and it will serve your organization well to develop a culture of perpetual innovation. Continually seek ways to update your approach and install upgrades to the tools you use. Keep an on-going conversation with other pastors, church planters and nonprofit leaders to find out what they are using. Plan and set the expectation with your staff and team to perpetually make small changes to ensure you are working as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Auxilio shares the fruit of our culture of innovation with our clients. We are continually researching new platforms and tools, learning about best practices and sharing this knowledge with our clients. If there is an area of your business practices that you’d like to see improved, talk to your Partner Strategist or contact Auxilio at hello@auxilio.partners to learn more about your services.