Using Technology To Grow Your Faith Based Organization

Using Technology To Grow Your
Faith Based Organization

Church Compliance Conference
Columbia, MD

Adria Richards
Technology Consultant

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukonblizzard/2371488991/
Monday, September 26, 2011

Event Sponsors

THE LAW OFFICES OF ERIKA E. COLE, LLC


Overview of this session
Goal: Share low cost, high value web-based tools to
help pastors and church staff run the back office
more effectively.

• Improve communication
• Build trust online
• Engage others to join your cause


Technology Consultant and Speaker


Technology blog
http://butyoureagirl.com


Press & News
Black Women in Tech You Need to Follow
On Twitter – Black Enterprise

Building A Better Website
Print edition of Black Enterprise Magazine

Nominated for the Small Business
Influencer Award
SmallBizTrends

Still Going: Norm Coleman Minnesota Senate How To Encourage More Brown Women
debate | The Rachel Maddow Show To Launch Tech Startups
Syndicated to Women 2.0

8 Tips for Using Social Blogging to Grow
Your Business
Inc.com


I help companies work smarter, not harder


33% of Americans work more
than 40 hours per week

http://www.visualeconomics.com/

The Go, Go, Go Lifestyle


Eat, Work, Sleep

http://www.flickr.com/photos/criminalintent/3172180022/

At least 134 countries have laws setting the
maximum length of the work week

The U.S. does not.
http://www.visualeconomics.com/

A University of Michigan study found family
meal time was the single strongest predictor
of better achievement scores and fewer
behavioral problems.
http://www.puttingfamilyfirst.org/research.php#1

83 percent of
Americans belong
to a religious
denomination

40 percent attend
services every
week

58 percent pray at
least weekly
http://www.pewglobal.org/2002/12/19/among-wealthy-nations/

The Quantity of Information…
has changed

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jypsygen/392275

The Numbers
“Every two days we create as
much information as we did from
the dawn of civilization up until
2003”

Knowledge workers spend 50% of
their day on unproductive tasks
such as scheduling, duplicate
communication, trying to get in
touch and ﬁltering spam.
*Xerox http://www.xerox.com/information-overload/enus.html

Danger Signs
Missing
deadlines

Lower
attendance,
donations

“I just need to
work late
to catch up.”

Hope, in this case, is
not a strategy.

Building a strong foundation

Build a strong foundation
Slide 2


To help your community grow


Staying Connected


•Computers
•Internet
•Website
•Email
•Phone


Can’t we get just one more?


Technology is expensive
Technology fails often
Technology needs support


Improving Communication


Look To The Cloud


Google Apps

http://www.google.com/a

Google Apps Gmail
•7GB Inbox
•Spam free email
•Web interface or use your email client

Google Docs
•Import existing documents from Microsoft Office
•Share and collaborate with coworkers
•Built-in revision control

Google Calendar
•Share your calendar online
•Access from your computer, phone or from home
•Reminders, maps and RSVP


Google Apps Gmail Web Interface


Building Trust Online


10 Tips For Websites
1. Make sure your logo is clear and consistent
2. Focus your calls to action
3. Plan your site navigation
4. Less is more
5. Update the weekly with news, events and stories
6. Cross pollinate content
7. Tell your congregation
8. Allocate a budget for the website
9. Use rich media (video, images) for storytelling
10. Start a blog using WordPress


Website Best Practices

http://www.2harvest.org

Church Websites

http://www.scrantonchurch.com/
http://www.parkerhill.org/
http://www.eaglebend.org/
http://providencechurch.com/
http://willowbrookchurch.net/
http://www.eastgrandchurch.org/

Engaging Your Audience


Communicate effectively
1. How do your members and volunteers contact you?
2. If someone were to visit your website, would they
have all the information they needed to attend?
3. Action based emails are most effective. Be brief
and ask for what you need
4. Can you cut out the paper?
5. Ask for feedback using survey tools


10 Tools To Help You Grow


Easy Beautiful Websites with SEO

http://wordpress.org

Send Great Email Newsletters

http://mailchimp.com

Event Management and RSVP

http://eventbrite.com

Phone Calls and Conferencing

http://skype.com

Electronic Signatures

http://echosign.com

Manage Your Phone Lines

http://grasshopper.com

Live Chat On Your Website

http://snapengage.com

Easy Online Invoicing

http://freshbooks.com

Support Your Members

http://assistly.com

Backup Your Data

http://mozy.com

Conclusion of this session
Goal: Share low cost, high value web-based tools to help
pastors and church staff run the back office more effectively.

• Improve communication
• Build trust online
• Engage others to join your cause

Summary: Technology continues to be a cornerstone within
churches. IT drives fundraising efforts, new member outreach
and staff management. With most staff at churches being
volunteers and funds coming from donations, it's important
that both time and resources are being leveraged effectively.

Churches can benefit greatly from using new technology
solutions but always need to keep cost in mind.

Questions?
Adria Richards
http://butyoureagirl.com
Phone: 415-409-9557
Twitter: @adriarichards
Email adria@butyoureagirl.com
Now living in San Francisco, Adria consults with
organizations and small businesses how to
streamline their workflow using technology.

Please complete the survey at the end of the
booklet!


Using Technology To Grow Your Faith Based Organization

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Using Technology To Grow Your Faith Based Organization

Similar to Using Technology To Grow Your Faith Based Organization (20)

More from Adria Richards

More from Adria Richards (13)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Using Technology To Grow Your Faith Based Organization