How $400k was raised in weeks: Oceans Church Case Study

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8 Minute Read
Posted by Overflow Team on May 17, 2022

Tags: Case Study

When you picture Orange County, California, you probably imagine pristine beaches filled with skinny palm trees, or surfers ready to catch the next big swell. Or perhaps you think of Disneyland or the show Laguna Beach. Despite the abundance of attractions, Pastor Mark Francey saw a different picture when he looked at Orange County.

As a native of Southern California, Francey was well aware of the touristy charm of the area. However, he knew that even a city that seemingly has "everything" still has a deeper hunger for hope. After taking a trip with his wife, Rachelle, to return to the area, their hearts soared with confirmation that they were to plant a church there. In 2018, they uprooted their lives to lean into their calling.

This was by no means an "easy" move just because it was to sunny, warm California. The Franceys had spent two decades at Capital Church, a growing community near Boise, Idaho, and had to make the difficult decision to leave the familiar behind.

Stepping out in faith, they planted the seeds for what would now become Oceans Church: a community that would be a refuge for a tired and busy region to hear the message of Jesus and find a sense of belonging.

Fast forward, and Oceans Church has now grown to the point that they need a new building to hold their growing congregation. As Francey himself noted, building campaigns, fundraising, and managing finances are some of the less glamorous aspects of church planting. Pastors are often prepared in terms of prayer, scripture, and preaching, but often are caught off guard by the extensive logistics that go into it:

"I didn't realize becoming a pastor was going to be so involved with other things other than the Bible and prayer," Francey said. "For some reason, I thought maybe being a pastor was loving people and praying and reading my Bible, and that was going to pretty much encapsulate my job responsibility. I had no idea that I was going to be an expert in real estate land acquisitions, working with cities, working with fundraising events. I had no idea what I was signing myself up for."

Scaling requires generosity, and Francey and his team were looking for a way to maximize that. They ended up partnering with Overflow to receive both stock and crypto donations. So far, Oceans Church has seen an incredible return on investment, along with a thriving partnership that he sees unlocking abundant giving potential.

Oceans x Overflow

Many pastors and nonprofit leaders are looking for a way to maximize their giving but are unaware of the options on the table. Even if they see the inherent benefits of stock or crypto giving, they wonder if the costs / set-up will be too much, or if their community would use such an avenue. Francey was intrigued from the start:

"I got introduced to Vance with Overflow through my cousin. I happened to check out [Vance on] the Carey Nieuwhof podcast as well. Vance was a guest on his show, and I just really was intrigued with their story."

Overflow's mission aligned with many of Oceans Church's goals, such as creating a user-friendly giving platform that was accessible and easy to use. Even if people are massively generous, they can get caught up in the weeds of how to give.

The average attention span in 2022 is not very long, and people are quick to discard anything that's confusing or clunky to use. However, if that initial interest or spark can be tapped into quickly, you're more likely to absorb their attention and trust. Francey noticed this as well, contrasting it with the "traditional" way of stock giving, which is a lengthy process.

"Someone [can] click on a link and from start to finish give a stock or give something that's valuable to them in 30-60 seconds as opposed to calling Merrill Lynch or Ameritrade and saying, "I want to transfer this here and there." You have to be pretty dedicated to go that route. For us, [it's] the convenience factor of Overflow. It's quick, it's accessible, it's convenient," he said.

The Results

Just because something is easy, doesn't mean it necessarily has proven results.

To the delight of the Oceans Church team, Overflow has more than paid for itself, currently sitting at a 3000% ROI…. in just a few weeks.

3,000%? How is that possible?

From a numbers standpoint, Overflow's initial startup cost was easily eclipsed by a few crypto and stock donations.

And as of right now, Francey reported that the church has seen almost $400,000 come in via Overflow's platform.

And that's just scratching the surface. Francey and his team see Overflow opening up major giving avenues for not just their church, but the capital C church at large. The financial landscape is changing across the board, and churches and nonprofits are preparing for how to best navigate that change. With more and more people diversifying their portfolios with stock and crypto, having a service to accommodate said donations becomes a huge priority.

"I just think that it's going to be more and more utilized as we see time progress. More people are carrying so much of their assets in their stocks. A lot of people even nowadays carry a lot of their assets in digital currencies. So I'm really excited to be able to introduce this to really our people in our church. But also, I think the body of Christ can benefit," Francey said.

And on a personal level, the partnership has been healthy, consistent, and life-giving for both sides. In addition to professionalism and results, one of the biggest things that stuck out to Francey was the accessibility to the Overflow team. Though the Overflow platform is easy to use, setting up any kind of new system takes time and naturally comes with a lot of questions. Encouragingly, the Oceans Church team has felt seen and heard, building their confidence in the partnership even more.

Here's Francey:

"Overflow has individuals that actually are personally available for your team to call. They were so helpful setting everything up for us working with our staff. So we've had a really great experience as far as setting it up and maintaining it. Any questions that we've had with even some of the transactions that come through, they've just been really awesome to work with. I highly recommend [Overflow] and am excited to continue our relationship with them in the future."