THE MARQUETTE TRIBUNE
Church giving for the plastic generation
Some churches have added kiosks for electronic donations
By Ashley Niedringhaus10-09-2007
The passing of the collection basket, a common practice at many churches regardless of religion, is getting a modern makeover in churches across the country.
More than 40 churches across the country have installed "giving kiosks", said Patty Baker, president of Automated Giving Solutions, LLC, the producer of the donation kiosks called Secure Give.
The kiosks allow parishioners to electronically make stewardship donations to the church in an ATM-like manner. Those interested in making an electronic donation swipe their card and enter the donation amount, Baker said.
"These machines were designed for people who live their lives on their debit or credit cards. Today, most people don't even carry checkbooks or cash," Baker said.
She said only one of the 40 churches that has a kiosk in its lobby is Catholic.
Baker said she is a member of Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Ga. where her husband, Marty Baker, is the lead pastor and "brain behind the church kiosks."
Stevens Creek, which has offered the kiosk service for almost two years, saw an 18 percent increase in church donations last year which Baker attributed to the kiosk machine.
"We had people at Stevens Creek telling us how the only check they write each month is to the church. That's when we knew we had to find a way to incorporate debit cards into our system," Baker said.
Timothy Charek, business manager at St. Bernadette in Milwaukee, 8200 W. Denver Ave., said the manner in which people donate is not important, however St. Bernadette does not use the system.
"The church is not enforcing their methodology on people," he said. "They are just giving them more options (by adding kiosks or credit cards)."
The kiosks became more popular when the IRS, according to its Web site, announced it would be requiring documentation for all charitable contributions totaling more than $250.
The specially designed, in-house church ATMs offer paper receipts to keep track of donations, Baker said.
Credit card companies offer promotions like frequent flyer miles or cash-back rewards as incentives for customers who use their credit cards, so churchgoers who make donations via plastic have the opportunity for these other rewards.
"For some people (the credit card rewards) do make a difference. While some credit cards give rewards, others give points for things like college education. It's an additional incentive to donating through the kiosks," Baker said.
Baker said the kiosks were designed with today's younger generation, which tend to use credit and debit cards, in mind.
Len Thiede, vice president of corporate sales at Vanco Services, an online ePayment provider, said that before electronic donations people did not have the tools to be good stewards.
Vanco Services provides electronic payment to more than 8,500 churches nationwide and covers more than 29 denominations. For Vanco's services, the church pays 25 cents per transaction, Thiede said.
Charek said the issue with credit card rewards is that church donations seem more like personal shopping then a religious donation.
"The adoption of credit cards and paperless donations into the church system makes the person see themselves as a consumer and then they go looking for the best deal. What ends up happening then is adding a shopping value," Charek said.
While the shopping and personal benefit is present, Thiede said the modern churchgoer is still part of a consumer society.
"Today's churchgoer has become more astute with their money. Those who pay their credit card off each month can see the obvious advantages of electronic payment," Thiede said.
