Coronavirus - Software Updates to Help You Reach Your People

In these times, you need to be able to identify and communicate with others quickly. It's more than just identifying your congregation. You need to know exactly who you need to reach out to in these times, without any roadblocks. We made some minor updates that will give you some big wins in connecting and serving your people in this time.

Public Needs

Needs allow Group Members to put out requests that they have where someone else in the Group could fulfill. This could look like supplying meals to a family who just had a baby, or make hospital visits.

This tool is powerful for Small Groups and a Care Team to organize help for others. The only caveat was Groups could not post Needs to people outside of the software. So we took what we learned from Public Signups and applied them to Needs. Meet Public Needs.

Make It Public

Creating a Public Need is just like creating any other Need. Head to a Group you want to host the Need, and click "Create Need". As you head to the creation page, make sure to check the box next to "Public List". This will make this Need available for you to post publicly.

Get the Word Out!

Creating a Need is one thing, but you also need the ability to tell all your friends and church so they can sign up to help. Once you have your Need created, click "view public list" and that will take you to a unique public page that you can share with anyone so they can help. And the best part - no existing profile in your software is required for them to sign up to help.

Here are some great ways to share your new Public Needs link:

Social Media - Share your link to all of your social media pages by adding your unique url in a message, post, or tweet. This is a great way to not only get your church involved but also extend an invitation to your community and friends (and your friends' friends..etc.) to participate.
Text Message - Texts have about a 99% open rate and one of the most effective ways to get the word out about a Need. Use a Twext in a group or send a group text in your Lead App to alert your group members.
Email/Mail Merge - Add a hyperlink to your Public Needs page directly to your email or Mail Merge. This is a great way to create awareness of your Need with your congregation and allow them the opportunity to respond immediately.
Website - Your website typically is one of the first places people go to to learn more about your church and stay up to date with what you are doing right now. Add your Public Needs page on your website to direct people to jump in and help where they can.

Once you get the word out, in no time, people will start to take the Needs they can help fulfill.

√ No login required.

√ No pre-existing profile in your software needed to sign up.

√ No need to remind people about their need - the system sends reminders out two days before the need is due.

Payment Type Search

With the cancelation of in-person gatherings and closure of church offices, there has never been a better time to start switching your cash and check donors to Online Giving. Building awareness through mass emailing and announcements during your services is a start - but it won't capture everyone and some donors will get left behind.

Payment Type Search will help your church identify the specific people who give through cash and check so you can personalize follow-up for each unique situation to help individuals make the transition.

Find Your Donors

Screen Shot 2020-04-09 at 6.02.39 AM Any profile with Full Financial Admin Privileges will be able to run this People Search. First, make sure you are on the Classic Search Page and head to the magnify glass. Once there, click the tab and scroll to "Transaction Amount to COA in Date Range*." Next, start to set up the criteria for the specific people you are looking for. As you set the criteria you will happen across our new payment "Type" selection! Choose from "Cash", "Check", "Online", and "Other" to look for those who have given through a specific type of giving. Once your criteria is set, hit "Search Now" and you will now have a list of donors based on their Payment Type!

PRO TIP When using this search criteria, if you set "COA" to "Is Set" and "Get" to "Deductible Only" this will give you a list of donors who have given any tax deductible gift to any Chart of Account at your church. This is helpful for churches who use multiple COAs for their General Fund and for the church who has multiple COAs listed for multiple campuses or sites.

Take Action

Now that you have your list you can now add your donors to a Process Queue for follow up, send a Mail Merge, print mailing labels, or save the Search so you can easily get back to your list later.

We hope these features serve you and your teams well and see new ways to reach out to your communities, as you are a conquering this season!

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