Online and contactless giving
helped keep St Chad's Church in York and the organisations relying on it going
during COVID-19. As a treasurer who is strongly connected with his local
community and congregation, Martin Cross shares his insight into how.
"St Chad's started to use contactless giving last year as a result of the Parish Buying giveaway that was sponsored by Visa. The giveaway came at a perfect time as we usually host many events, including a dementia-friendly concert, fundraisers with the Alzheimer's Society and small scale performances. Having the contactless unit has helped us to continue our events and support the community in a COVID safe way.
"It started to make more of a significant impact this year as the people who usually give cash in an envelope were very open to giving using the contactless card unit when they came in for private prayer sessions. This, therefore, made a huge difference in the way people give.
"I would recommend for churches that have not yet incorporated contactless units as one of their giving methods to do so. At our church, the congregation adjusted rather quickly and found contactless card units easy to use.
"Having online and contactless giving has meant that people have been able to continue to give to and support our church, enabling us to carry on with helping the community. We have recently shared £1,000 between four amazing charities whose causes range from providing mentors for homeless children and young people to providing help to vulnerable women, such as those who have suffered from domestic abuse."
"I would also recommend setting up an online giving platform, which we have also incorporated on our website. As such our members have warmed to online giving and taken part in our coffee mornings hosted on Zoom which helps us to raise money for Macmillan Cancer charity.