Old habits die hard — and so do old fears. So how do you convince your board or executive committee to embrace online payments? This article walks you through what can be a long process, but one that's absolutely worth it!
- Exposing the limits of your current setup
- Opening up new possibilities
- Reassuring your team and managing the change
Exposing the limits of your current setup
There are two types of limitations: real risks, and everyday friction that quietly slows you down.
Real risks
Cash flow
The biggest risks are cash flow related — and most of them stem from managing checks.
Checks can get lost, forgotten, or deposited late. Even with the best intentions, this kind of mistake is likely when you're handling a few dozen checks — and virtually inevitable when you're dealing with hundreds. The result: cash flow gaps and financial pressure that can put your nonprofit's projects at risk.
On top of that, checks have the highest fraud rate of any payment method. While they represent only 6% of non-cash payments, they account for 42% of fraud cases. And fraud is painful for everyone involved — including you, the nonprofit receiving it. You have to handle the returned check, chase down a new payment, and sort it all out in your books.
Driving away future volunteers
Sticking with outdated, time-consuming payment processes is a long-term risk for your nonprofit. Your current volunteers may be used to it — but that same tedious, unrewarding work could easily drive away the next generation of potential volunteers.
Broader trends in volunteerism point in the same direction:
- Volunteers are increasingly committing on a short-term basis: you can no longer assume they'll be willing to spend hours on tedious administrative tasks.
- Younger generations are volunteering at growing rates — and for them, the next wave of nonprofit leaders, managing payments the old-fashioned way simply isn't an option. They live digitally and don't use checks.
Volunteer leadership turnover is one of the top concerns for nonprofits today. To address it, organizations need to rethink what volunteering looks like — update their processes, embrace new practices, and meet people where they are: more purpose, less administrative burden.
Everyday friction
Your volunteers are willing — they put in the effort. But the work is genuinely painful.
Managing checks and cash, tracking payments, and matching people to their transactions eats up an enormous amount of time.
It's a bit like the invention of the wheel: people — motivated and well-meaning — didn't realize how much friction they were putting up with until they switched tools.
When you remove that friction for your volunteers:
- they'll build new skills — one of the core motivations for volunteering in the first place
- they'll save time and stay fulfilled in their roles, and more committed to your organization.
Improving how you work is one of the best ways to retain your volunteers.
But to get there, you need to bring them along on the journey.
Opening up new possibilities
Online payments open up new possibilities for your nonprofit. For example:
- More secure recording of incoming and outgoing payments, bank transfers, and any payment fees
- Simpler administrative and financial management through task automation
- Grow your membership, especially by attracting younger generations who are more comfortable with digital tools — and who would simply refuse outdated payment methods
- Launch new projects thanks to healthier cash flow and more volunteer time freed up
- Greater visibility for your nonprofit — a direct result of all of the above!
Of course, switching to online payments can raise concerns and resistance. That's why it's important to address those concerns head-on and support your board through the transition.
Reassuring your team and managing the change
Identifying the fears
Change is scary — that's completely normal. But it doesn't have to happen all at once, and no one has to go through it alone.
Start by understanding what's holding people back. Once you've identified the blockers, it's much easier to address them. Here are some of the most stubborn fears you're likely to encounter:
😱 Fear of losing control
"Right now, I know exactly what's happening with every payment. I don't want to lose that visibility."
😱 Fear of being sidelined — losing an important role or valued status
"Right now, I'm THE person who manages all incoming payments — the go-to for this topic. What's my role if that gets taken away from me?"
😱 Fear of the unknown
"I've never used it. What's going to convince me it's actually better than what we have now?"
😱 Fear of failure
"I know what I'm doing right now. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up if things change."
😱 Fear of pushback
"I don't want to push something our members won't be on board with."
These fears are rarely stated outright — that would be too easy! The only way to surface them is to have real conversations and dig into what's blocking people.
Addressing concerns about online payments
There are as many answers as there are fears, so the list below isn't exhaustive. But it gives you a solid starting point for reassuring people about online payments.
Addressing the fear of losing control
Unlike checks or cash, online payments give you a real-time view of your financial situation.
Funds land in your nonprofit's e-wallet, and you have full visibility into every transaction in the Wallet Statement:
- the type of transaction,
- the date,
- the associated contact,
- the transaction details,
- the corresponding book entry.
In terms of control, this is actually a net gain — not a loss. And it makes your bookkeeping far more reliable across the board.
Addressing the fear of being sidelined
Having a valued role matters — but here's the good news: your status doesn't disappear when the tool changes.
On the contrary: rolling out a new tool like online payments can build a reputation for innovation and forward-thinking leadership. Championing and implementing it creates a new, valued role tied to a genuinely important skill.
Addressing the fear of the unknown
Every new topic comes with uncertainties — that's fair. But when it comes to online payments, the path is well-marked:
- Springly has been supporting online payments for years — it's a thoroughly proven capability,
- Thousands of nonprofits using our platform rely on it every day — and they keep using it because it works for them.
Switching to online payments doesn't mean upending everything overnight — the transition can be gradual. And if it ever doesn't work out, you can always go back!
Addressing the fear of failure
The Springly team is here to help you set up online payments for your nonprofit.
Case in point: we offer a free, personalized online training session to walk you through how online payments work and help you set everything up on your platform. Multiple team members can join. Just book your slot using THIS LINK.
Additional resources are also available to support you:
- a dedicated PDF guide
- tutorial videos in the "Online Payments" section
- the webinar recording on online payments, plus platform walkthroughs (at the bottom of this page)
- Help Center articles on payments.
And as always, our Support team is happy to help whenever you need it!
Addressing the fear of pushback
Over the many years we've worked on online payments, we've consistently seen that board members tend to assume their members will resist — when in reality, they don't.
How many times have we heard "Our members will never pay online!" — only to find out, when you actually ask them, that they're completely fine with it. Or at least, the majority are.
The simplest approach is to just offer it: give people the option to pay by card, while keeping other payment methods available too. Worst case, nothing changes 🙂
But more likely, you'll be pleasantly surprised!
- - -
To sum it up: switching to online payments can feel daunting, but:
- it will free you from a lot of tedious work and let you focus on what actually matters,
- it will make your nonprofit more secure and open up new opportunities,
- the rollout can be gradual — and we're with you every step of the way 💙
Did something else help you convince your board? Share it in the comments — you might inspire someone else!
Comments
0 comments
Article is closed for comments.