When Pastor Mike found his church outgrowing their outdated giving platform, he knew something had to change. Learn how switching to WeGive transformed their donor experience and boosted recurring giving by 148%.
Pastor Mike Frisch faced a growing challenge at Active Church. As Lead Pastor, he loved sending personal thank-you texts and emails to givers in the church. After all, being personal and caring were the church's "unique identifiers," as Mike puts it.
But as the church grew, this hands-on approach hit a wall. "It could take my whole week," he recalls. The church needed a way to stay personal while handling growth.
Yet time wasn't the only issue. Their giving platform itself had fallen behind the times.
The Disconnect
Mike uses a simple comparison to explain why they needed change.
"Think about a church that wants to maybe change the front of the room like the stage... But then if you have pews and green carpet, that feels like a gap, right?"
This was exactly their problem with their old giving platform. Their church was modern and engaging, but their giving experience felt stuck in the past.
The Breaking Point
Their old system caused daily frustrations:
- Donors had to click multiple times just to give
- The system felt cold and impersonal
- Customer service rarely responded
- The giving page looked nothing like their church website
"You click through a website and then suddenly you get to a page and you're like, 'Did I click out of the website?'" Mike explains. "That's kind of what it felt like."
The Transformation
After looking at several options, Active Church chose WeGive. The results were clear:
- 36% more first-time donors
- 148% jump in recurring donations
- $15,000-$30,000 saved each year through donor fee coverage
But numbers weren't everything. "The feedback we received was that it looked and felt more like us," Mike shares.
This matters a lot for churches trying to connect with younger members, who expect a seamless digital giving experience.
Beyond the Basics
WeGive solved their basic problems, then went further with helpful features:
- Easy-to-use giving options
- Simple fee coverage choices
- Low-fee bank transfers
- Quick system updates
"It's constantly tweakable," Mike notes. "We had to adjust something recently and it was literally two clicks and we adjusted it. It's so functional for us."
Getting Creative with Giving
One feature became an unexpected hit: the ability to fund small, specific needs alongside regular giving.
"When they give, there's options underneath," Mike explains. "I'm giving a tithe of this much, but then there's the option of 'hey, you want to cover goldfish for the kindergartners?'"
This simple addition brought exciting results. "People are like, 'yeah, I'll give my tithe, but I would love to buy goldfish this month.'"
These small giving options help fund specific needs without using budget money. Plus, they get more people involved in giving.
Smooth Changes
Worried about switching systems? Mike's experience offers hope, even with complex challenges. When their previous processor refused to release payment methods for recurring givers, the WeGive team stepped in with a managed migration solution.
"We gave them a list, and they went through the entire system and pulled out those names for us," Mike explains. "They really went above and beyond in honoring us and making sure that we had everything that we needed."
Thanks to this hands-on support, Active Church didn't lose a single recurring giver in the transition. "With [Support], what we've experienced was immediate responses, immediate clarity, and really, really helpful in bending over backwards for us."
Mike shares.
A Word to Church Leaders
Mike offers clear advice for churches thinking about change:
"When it comes to like a church, obviously we want to honor the people that are here, but as we think about the person on the other side of us that are not here yet, I want to make the experience overall one that catches their eye. And you want to remove all of the hurdles... I would encourage anybody to at least consider WeGive."
The result? Active Church now has a giving system that matches who they are - modern, personal, and easy to use.
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