Show me the money

Recently I had a conversation about church collections. My thought was that as we move from a cash-centric society to a "plastic" people we can assume that the collect funds will continue to go down. As putting credit card readers in wicker baskets is not an option, what can be done to combat the decline?

The Antiochian Orthodox have a program called "To Tithe is to Share" which targets educating children about the merits of tithing. It ends in May and I'd like to see what results they provide after they've made their review.

In my reckoning the answer is electronic funds transfer (EFT). Provide people with a method of paying monthly "without thinking" by filling out a form at the parish. Commit parishioners to a certain amount (can we expect people to give their 10%?) and allow clergy to worry less about the week-to-week "numbers".

Another answer is to target specific projects and ask for funds based on each. The obvious problem is that not every project is attractive to parishioners. Selling a new air conditioning unit is easy for a Texan parish. Selling a washer for the rectory is not as sexy. Sometimes representative government serves a purpose - a chosen individual to do what is necessary even when it doesn't have a sufficient cool factor to motivate the masses. Let voters choose between improved sewage systems and another highway lane and things start to get smelly quickly.