During COVID, places of worship have played a critical role in communities. Pastors have taken on the role of “faith responders,” providing food to the hungry, support for those mourning loved ones and a sense of solace for congregants. But with their doors closed and the nation dealing with economic turmoil, this time certainly hasn’t been easy on churches.

How has faith-based giving during COVID changed? How can donors utilize new tools to keep donations flowing?

Our team at Givelify, a mobile giving app used by more than 45,000 churches and nonprofits, conducted a survey and looked at our own data to better answer these questions. What we found tells a powerful story about generosity during crisis, but also highlights the urgent need for places of worship to evolve fundraising approaches to adapt to this moment and thrive into the future.

Generosity Prevails

Online and mobile giving to churches increased or remained steady during COVID-19, despite places of worship closing their doors and an uncertain economic climate. Among those, nearly a third reported an increase in donations, and a quarter saw consistent levels. The number of donations given each week on Givelify nearly doubled between March 15 and April 18.

A Growing Digital Divide

Churches with online or mobile giving in place fared better financially during COVID, while those without a digital presence are struggling to survive. During the pandemic, places of worship with mobile giving in place saw a nearly 10% increase in the size of donations (via Givelify app data). Among churches on Givelify, those with a strong digital presence (website, live streaming, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube) saw 533% more donations than those without.

A Signaling of Polylithic Giving

Church giving is not exclusive to one place of worship. During the pandemic, more than 20% of people gave to multiple places of worship, a number that has steadily risen over the past few years. This points to the changing relationships that people have with places of worship and the desire to belong to multiple faith-based communities. An all-virtual world has only further opened the possibility that we can belong to and engage with different f faith organizations.

Accelerating an Inevitable Transformation

The pandemic may accelerate a longer-term digital transformation that would see church  giving moving primarily online. Ninety-two percent of donors said they will continue to donate primarily online or via mobile after the pandemic ends, and 94% of faith leaders believe online giving is here to stay.

Getting Smarter About Giving

We know from this report and others that people in the faith-based giving community are incredibly generous, with giving to religion topping $128 billion in 2019. As millions of individual donors are likely reconfiguring their approach to giving in light of the pandemic, online giving can help create a more strategic, sustained and trackable practice of giving to their choice faith-based organizations, not only during COVID, but beyond. Mobile and online tools may also help grow giving. According to our study, 20% of people give more online than in person, and only 2% give less.

Individuals can play an active role in helping their places of worship tap into fellow congregants’ inherent generosity by encouraging faith leaders to adopt online and mobile engagement tools. The moment is now.

Learn more about Givelify’s Giving in Faith report and access our infographic summary here.