How churches are embracing pass-around donation machines alongside cash collections
As churches continue to serve their local communities in new and creative ways, how we give and receive donations is also evolving.
Fixed digital donation stations are becoming a familiar feature in church buildings, mounted on walls, countertops or kiosk giving stands around the church building. However, congregations are also increasingly embracing the use of pass-around Digital Collection Plates to give with greater ease during offertory or Sunday collections.
Rather than replacing cash collection, contactless donation devices handed up and down pews alongside the traditional collection bag, basket or offertory plate, give donors more choice and control over how they wish to give.
Digital Collection Plates enable donors to select how much they would like to give, add Gift Aid seamlessly to increase donation amounts by 25% and reduce admin for church volunteers, and even choose to keep in touch with future messaging to learn more about how their donations are having an impact.
Why Digital Collection Plates matter
Today’s congregations are more comfortable than ever using contactless and digital payment systems. From tapping a card to using a phone or smartwatch, digital transactions have become second nature. Yet, despite a huge decline in cash use across the UK, many churches still rely heavily on cash collections, reducing the amount of donations they are able to receive.
Average donation amounts are higher with digital giving – typically over £12 on Dona per donation, with Gift Aid rates of over 40%.
Contactless donation machines also provide valuable tools for churches to inspire their congregations to engage with different campaigns. From important building repairs to supporting community initiatives, showcasing the different causes that a church is fundraising for can encourage donors to give more generously.
By offering digital donation machines during services and events, churches ensure that everyone can take part in giving, whether they carry cash or not. It’s a simple but powerful way to make generosity accessible to all.
Supporting giving, not replacing tradition
Importantly, digital giving is not about replacing traditional cash offertory – but enhancing it.
With Dona, you can offer pass-around donation devices alongside online, QR code, coin, envelope, and standing order collections, allowing the congregation to choose how they’d like to give.
Dona digital collection plates can be configured in two simple ways:
- Tap to give with pre-set suggested donation amounts: Perfect for busy services or high-footfall times such as Advent, concerts or community groups.
- Choose your own donation amount: Dona donation machines showcase 6 suggested donation amounts, with the additional option to choose your own “other amount”, allowing donors to give whatever they feel able to contribute, providing a flexible and personal giving experience.
Inspiring generosity through a range of campaigns
One of the most rewarding benefits of digital giving is the opportunity to create inspiring campaigns. From supporting your church’s community outreach work to raising funds for restoration projects, digital fundraising devices make it easy to highlight specific causes and engage your congregation to understand more deeply the range of your church’s mission.
For congregation members using standing orders to manage their regular parish giving, stewardship or tithe donations, digital offertory machines can also empower one-off or supplementary fundraising boosts.
Your church’s fundraising volunteers can easily track which donations have gone to which campaigns through their Dona Management Portal. Gift Aid declarations are provided ready to download in the right format to submit to HMRC, speeding up fundraising admin, saving time and increasing accuracy of reporting.
Celebrate the inclusivity of contactless giving
By integrating digital donation options into your regular offertory, you help normalise contactless giving as a natural part of church life. This not only futureproofs your fundraising but also helps create a culture where giving is joyful, inclusive, and accessible for everyone within the community.
With only 6% of payments predicted to be made with cash in the UK by 2033, adopting digital donation tools isn’t just practical, it’s pastoral: to ensure your church remains relevant and inclusive for today’s communities and enable everyone, whatever their means of giving, to share in the act of generosity that sustains your church’s mission.
Ready to inspire generosity this Advent?
Add digital donation machines alongside your cash offertory and empower your congregation to give more easily, more often, and more joyfully.
During December, with the busy Advent period and run-up to Christmas, churches using Dona see a 45% increase in donations compared with other months. That’s a remarkable uplift, reflecting both the generosity of congregations and the ease of giving through contactless technology.
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