From the UTO Finance and Archives Committee

Many of our parish UTO leaders are working hard to encourage folks to donate online using the QR code on the boxes/envelopes, and we appreciate the effort. Giving online is incredibly easy and gives folks who don’t use cash a way to connect with UTO. If you let Heather know when your parish ingathering is, she can keep you posted regarding online donations and amounts. She gets the online donation records immediately, so it is a much faster system than mailing in checks.

Giving online does come with some drawbacks, one being that someone may tell you, the parish leader, that they donated online, when in fact they did not. This is a sensitive issue given the current economy. We recommend being as pastoral as possible when following up with folks who said they donated online that there is not a record of them doing so. Here are some ways we recommend handling it:

• “Hi, Sue! I know you told me you donated to UTO online, but when I was checking in with the staff person, she didn’t show a record of your donation. Is it possible that you sent the donation to our congregations’ bank instead of to UTO’s bank?”
• “Hi Tim! I know you told me you donated to UTO online, but when I was checking on our ingathering totals, your donation wasn’t listed. I know that on The Episcopal Church donation site there are other options—is it possible you forgot to select UTO? If so, we can track it down and get it added to the UTO account.”

Both of these can also be followed up with, “If now is not a good time to make a donation, you can make one any time you are able via the website, and our congregation will still get credit.”

If you keep track of the names of the folks who donated online, that will make it easier for Heather to check if the donation went to the incorrect account. With that said, we’re seeing that about half the folks who say they donated online did not donate. While we don’t have a solution for this challenge, we can tell you that overall, our online donations do continue to grow. 

Online donations are a great way for folks to set up a small recurring donation (so just like we used to put money in our Blue Boxes throughout the year, we can now do electronically) or to have an email or card sent in memory of or in thanksgiving for someone. We hope you will continue to encourage people to donate online, and we are here to help with the challenges this new frontier presents.