The Right Envelope for your Church or Charity

Most churches and charities rely on their donations to continue the valued work that they do in their local communities and even on a national scale.  In this blog, we look to provide the more popular options that church and charities opt to use to collect those tithes and donations from their patrons.

Collection envelopes, commonly known as regular giving envelopes, are bespoke made for donation gathering within a church or organisation. They are custom printed envelopes that include church names and districts along with areas for donors to write their details for Gift Aid claims.  Collection envelopes, or remittance envelopes, are larger envelopes often with a detachable flap that can serve as an order or information form.

Whilst some churches opt to allow their congregation to give online or by standing order, there is a reason why collection envelopes remain a popular method of collection even in a digital age. When the collection plate is passed around on a Sunday, most online donors feel like they have not participated in the customary worship traditions.  This is a feeling that many donors share, despite the fact they have already given via the online portal or by bank transfer.  Over time, donors can become disconnected from the giving process and see it more as a transactional routine, instead of as what it actually is: an important sacrifice for charitable work. This can actually be detrimental and may result in them reducing or stop their online donation altogether.

Standard Collection and Weekly Sets

Standard collection envelopes are a donation system that allows churches a bespoke process for their parishioners to giving on a regular basis (often weekly). These weekly envelopes are fully customisable and can be printed with your own church logo or image, text and headings and are numbered for recording purposes. These offering envelopes are sized to easily easy fit in the collections plate. They are not usually sent in the mail as they are meant to be collected at the conclusion of service or mass as part of the weekly giving scheme.

Budget and Economy Sets

Economy envelopes are designed to help the church collect donations from parishioners at a more cost-effective rate than the fully customisable weekly sets. Although they are cost-effective, Economy Sets have limited design options for printing and do not allow for envelope colour options (manilla only) and single colour designs instead of full-colour print.

Gift Aid and Single Donation Envelopes

Gift Aid envelopes are specifically designed to accommodate those who donate through the Gift Aid scheme so that the church or charity can claim 25p on every £1 donated. It is very important that you make the right choice in the design in order to demonstrate to potential donors that yours is a worthy cause. In order to make the most of all donations, envelopes are printed with sections for donors to fill out with their own details, making the recording and account process for Gift Aid much simpler.

Charity Donation and Remittance Envelopes

There are specific options for Charitable organisations in the form of remittance envelopes, which can also be used to collect donations through the mail.

These envelopes include a form printed directly on the face of the sleeve with a closure flap large enough to fold over top of the requested information in order to secure clients’ private details. These envelopes conveniently make for a form and envelope, all in one. Charity envelopes are fully customisable and can be printed on small or large envelope sizes, allowing for the collection of notes without them having to be folded.

Donation envelopes can often be found benefiting businesses such as churches, political campaigns, non-profit organisations, fundraisers, and more. They are great tools for businesses or charities looking to conceal sensitive client details while being able to retrieve the necessary information required for their audit process. They can even be printed as a pre-paid envelope, making it easy for prospective patrons to fill out the form on the envelope, insert the cash or check into the sleeve, seal the flap, and pop it back into the mailbox. It really take the hassle out of doing charitable work which will, in turn, make for a seamless donations and a streamlined recording process.

If you require further advice or assistance on the best envelope to suit your exact requirements, drop us a message or give us a call on 01942 402510 today.