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5 Crowdfunding Solutions for Your Next Church Project

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Every church has some kind of new project in the works, it seems. And of course, most projects only work if you have the money to execute and support them. Whether it is a youth group that is trying to raise money to go to camp, a new addition to the church building that would be used as an overflow room, or helping send a family as missionaries to another country, churches need creative ways to raise the money to send them.

This digital age offers new ways to meet these unique challenges. It’s called crowdfunding and has been made popular first by Kickstarter. The company has seen astronomical success with projects getting millions of dollars in a matter of days. It capitalizes on people funding your campaign at various giving levels, each with their own goodies, and suggest overall support of the whole project. With the major success of Kickstarter, the question is, how can churches move beyond a congregation-supported project to a community and even digitally-supported event?

I will say upfront that many churches have tried to use Kickstarter and most fail terribly. It’s not made specifically for churches. And if you do not meet your goal, you do not get any of the money.

So what crowdfunding options are available for churches? I’m glad you asked.

5 Possible Crowdfunding Solutions for Churches

Many of these platforms are new. They may not be fully proven to help you raise funds for your church. Most solutions require a bit of elbow grease to raise funds for your church. You must create and run a successful campaign to earn money. That being said, I have personally talked with the creators of all but the last on our list and they want to see churches thrive. I am happy to stand by all of these options for your church, each with a bit of a different take on crowdfunding.

1) FUNDEDBYFAITH.COM

Funded by Faith’s platform was designed exclusively for churches, which social media sharing options built in. This is definitely the most Kickstarter-like of the solutions so far. Started by a group that wants to see the church financially supported in this digital age, this has the best Kickstarter feel to it and may be more familiar to your audience. Each church is vetted by the team before being allowed to submit a campaign.

2) FUNDLY.COM

Fundly is a secular fundraising platform and has lots of bells and whistles. While not set up for ministry specifically, they do have many features that appeal to nonprofits and also boasts no startup fees. Individuals can set up campaigns through Facebook. Nonprofits can register through their website to use their campaign platform. Fundly also has its own free app to make building and maintaining your campaign on mobile a breeze. Read this helpful article for all the types of fundraisers you could possibly create – half the battle is just coming up with a creative way to start and raise funds.

3) GIVESENDGO.COM

This crowdfunding site says that it is different than other sites for a number of different reasons. Their platform is actually free for Christians to raise funds. They do not charge a 5-10% platform fee, which is really wonderful, and you can share your campaigns easily across social platforms. It’s currently touted as the “#1 free Christian crowdfunding site,” according to their website.

4) MOBILECAUSE

This fundraising software was built exclusively for nonprofits to help create meaningful connections with their donors. Their services include traditional online giving, text-to-donate, event fundraising, peer-to-peer campaigns, and even offers reporting and analytics. The smallest package starts at $149/month, and Mobile Cause offers custom packages if you have specific service needs for your fundraising.

5) PLUMFUND.COM

Plumfund boasts free online fundraising for a variety of secular and nonsecular purposes. It was started by the creators of HoneyFund, which supports raising honeymoon funds for couples online. Online payments are made directly through the organizer's PayPal account. They offer their services free of charge, and they boast the lowest credit card processing fees at 2.8% + $0.30. Cash and check donations are free of charge.

These are the top five solutions out there, but it really is you doing the legwork to craft the best campaign possible for the mission of your ministry.

Lauren Hunter
Lauren Hunterhttps://laurenhunter.net
Lauren Hunter is a writer who loves the big picture of God’s journey we are all on together. In 2007, she founded ChurchTechToday, a website for pastors and church leaders to harness technology to improve ministry. Married to her high school sweetheart, Lauren lives in Northern California with her husband and their four children. Her latest book is Leaving Christian Science: 10 Stories of New Faith in Jesus Christ. She can be found online at https://laurenhunter.net.

3 COMMENTS

  1. It is necessary to set a determined goal towards your crowdfunding. Brainstorm the final output that you want from this campaign and regulate your process according to it. For example, if your church is helping the homeless, organizing a community lunch sale offering “buy a lunch, give a lunch”, pricing the food slightly higher than average to support your cause would be a great idea. The next step would be to introduce this idea to the people. Tell your story around the campaign or how you came up with the idea. It could be a short video which wouldn’t require a lot of work, but should just convey your ideas profoundly. To attract the people’s attention, high quality images could be used. Churches do have a big network and it is possible that they might easily find an amateur photographer around.

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