Live and recorded video streams are becoming an increasingly important way for churches to reach existing members and reach out to new ones, both locally and around the world.
The only downside is that streaming viewers can’t physically donate to the collection plate. But they can now do this online while viewing, thanks to the online donation services provided by Promethean TV (promethean.tv). This means that churches large and small can now tap into the generosity and faith of their online congregants—anywhere in the world.
"By offering viewers the ability to donate online via Promethean donation overlays, houses of worship allow [people] to give back and become more emotionally involved.” Betsy Flounders Novak, Vice President of Business Development, Promethean TV
“When someone is watching a worship service on their computer, smartphone or tablet, they want to feel that they are part of the congregation even though they’re not there in person,” says Betsy Flounders Novak, Promethean TV’s Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships. “Being able to give to a house of worship is a vital part of being a congregant. By offering viewers the ability to donate online via Promethean donation overlays, houses of worship allow [people] to give back and become more emotionally involved.”
Offering online payments can also boost tithing levels. According to the website Nonprofits Source, only 10-25% of a “normal congregation” make tithing-level donations to their churches. But when an online tithing payment option is available, total congregational tithing rises to 32%.
Meanwhile, many potential churchgoers shop around by watching a church’s video streams first before deciding to attend in person. Offering online donations to these prospects not only helps the church fund its good works, but creates an emotional link, enhancing the likelihood that these shoppers will attend in person.
What Is Promethean TV?
Promethean TV is an easy-to-use online platform that allows houses of worship to create, alter, and overlay donation appeal boxes and buttons right on top of their streaming video, both live and recorded (on demand).
Using the company’s Promethean Broadcast Center online platform, a house of worship can configure its “donation box” to deposit electronic viewer contributions directly to the church’s online bank account. The overlaid video is then served out to the world, in a format that is as professional-looking as it is functional. (Note: Providing professional-looking video streams with multiple camera views helps churches attract and hold online viewers.)
Promethean TV's donation overlays can appear at the exact moment a church chooses, to enhance impact and increase opportunities for giving.
That’s not all: the Promethean TV platform allows the church’s video director to control and edit the display of these donation boxes during live events, timing their messages to sync directly with the messages contained within the sermon as they occur.
For instance, if the minister makes a specific appeal to the congregation to donate in support of their missions to third world countries, the donation box can be edited to display a message like “You Can Bring the Word to the World!” Again, such an overlay can be served at exactly the point of message impact that a church chooses.
Nuts and Bolts
The Promethean TV platform is built on customizable graphic overlays with interactive buttons. Once a house of worship has signed up to Promethean TV, they can access and customize these graphics via the online Broadcast Center, which also becomes the distribution point for their live and recorded video streams.
“The Promethean Broadcast Center is where all the action takes place,” says Loic Argelies, Promethean TV’s Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder. “This is where you can set up individual channels for each of your streaming feeds, and customize the donation boxes/giving message that you overlay on top of the video, including using graphics and photos related directly to your house of worship. The Broadcast Center also allows you to set up the pathway for depositing these donations and monitoring the donation level in real-time.”
"[The Promethean Broadcast Center] is where you can set up individual channels for each of your streaming feeds, and customize the donation boxes/giving message that you overlay on top of the video...." Loic Argelies, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder, Promethean TV
The power of dynamically changing the donation box messages during live streaming events cannot be overstated. A production team member can edit the message text to keep it linked to the sermon. As decades of TV telethon fundraising have proven, recognizing donors on air encourages other viewers to donate.
“Being able to donate without leaving the live stream keeps viewers engaged with your message,” says Novak. “In contrast, the old way of asking them to donate—by email, phone or link—takes them outside of the experience and weakens your impact.”
Free to Try, Affordable to Use
At first glance, adding online donations to a church’s video streams may seem daunting, especially those relying on volunteer tech teams. This is why Promethean has designed the Broadcast Center to be extremely easy to use.
In addition, the company provides potential users with free live online demos. During the demo on your own computer screen, a Promethean Education Consultant will learn about your church’s unique requirements, answer any questions, and show the features and functionality of the Broadcast Center in action.
“You’ll get a step-by-step tour through setting up a Promethean video channel or channels, and creating/managing your own unique overlays,” says Argelies. “By the end of the tour, you’ll see how easy it is to start getting donations on all of your video streams.”
During the demo ... a Promethean Education Consultant will learn about your church’s unique requirements, answer any questions, and show the features and functionality of the Broadcast Center in action.
Argelies adds, “The Promethean team [is] always available to support—perhaps to detail best practice or support your creative team with ideation.”
Because each house of worship is different, Promethean offers a range of payment plans for its services. “We are currently offering some test packages free of charge up to a certain donation limit, and then a revenue share past that point,” Novak says.
The best part: it costs nothing to contact Promethean TV and see for yourself how their online donation platform works. Just email info@promethean.tv for a demo and more information.
“We've seen a massive increase in the number of houses of worship that embrace new technologies to connect with and grow their congregations,” says Novak. “The fundraising power of online donations is a tool that every house of worship needs to tap into, both to better fulfill their mission, and to strengthen their ties with congregants worldwide.”
Novak closes, “Our Donation Video Overlays will allow houses of worship to tap into goodwill and generosity wherever their congregants are.”
To learn more about Promethean TV's Donation Video Overlays visit: https://www.Promethean.tv/donations.html
Watch Promethean TV's Donations Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFoK9-MZZIU.
More information is also available here: https://www.churchproduction.com/news/promethean-introduces-donation-video-overlays/.
