AskGenius

A powerful tool that helps you set personalized ask amounts for thousands of donors at a time.

AutomateGenius

Fundraising automations to delight your donors, streamline gift processing, and save time.

Catholic Social Media

A social media management platform exclusively for Catholic parishes and dioceses.

Stay informed with the latest nonprofit fundraising research and tips.

Our Diocesan Services

Prenger Solutions Group is proud to serve more than half of all dioceses in the United States.

Fundraising Consulting

Modernize your diocesan annual appeal with help from PSG’s fundraising, communications and technology experts.

Database Administration

We’ll get your donor database clean and organized. We can even manage it for you full-time.

Digital Communications

Our social media tools help dioceses and parishes thrive in this new, digital world.

Stay informed with the latest nonprofit fundraising research and tips.

Resources to help Catholic Parish and Diocesan Leaders.

Our Team

Our fundraising professionals, database experts and technology specialists.

Careers

Interested in joining our team? Learn more about how to apply.

Contact

Request more information, send us an email, or follow us on social media.

Stay informed with the latest nonprofit fundraising research and tips.

Webinars

Designed for today’s nonprofit, fundraising experts.

Fundraising Insights

Fundraising research, stories, and strategies to improve your fundraising expertise.

Downloads

Templates and Guides developed by our experts to help you achieve your fundraising potential.

Stay informed with the latest nonprofit fundraising research and tips.

analyze your easter collection

Does Your Parish Need a Hashtag?

Mar 9, 2023

We get this question a lot – “The church down the street has its own hashtag. It seems to be everywhere. Should we be doing the same?”

In short…yes! Like a parish mission statement, logo, website address, or Facebook vanity URL, a parish hashtag can help show the world who you are. Here are a few do’s and don’ts for choosing a parish hashtag:

  • Pick one that fits your parish: #saintjoseph or #BVMChurch won’t cut it. Use a geographic indicator such as your state or city to differentiate yourself (#saintjosephMN, #BVMChurchMaplewood) or turn your hashtag into a phrase (#BVMChurchCares or #saintjosephserves).
  • Be consistent: If this is going to be a part of your parish identity, it needs to be present on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, your website, your Flocknote messages…basically, in every part of your parish’s digital space.
  • Do your research: There’s nothing worse than crafting a perfect hashtag and using it for a month, only to realize you’re confusing your community with eight other communities. Once that’s done, test out the hashtag by sharing it with several trusted parishioners. Get their immediate feedback to ensure what you’ve chosen is easily understood and not confused with some other organization, a cultural touchstone, or slang.
  • Don’t overdo it: For a time, there was a tendency, specifically on Instagram, to string together 10+ hashtags in one message to “reach more people.” The end result? Lots of folks just got annoyed. If you’re going to celebrate World Mission Sunday at #BVMChurchMaplewood, maybe tag it #worldmissionsunday2020, but not #gospel #popefrancis #catholic #help #grace #mercy and so on. Pick 2-3 per message and leave it at that.

A parish hashtag is just one more tool for you to build community identity and promote your church, but it is an important one. Keep at it, and you’ll find it becomes a common part of your church culture.