How St. Frances Cabrini Shrine inspires generosity with Donorbox Live Kiosk

Introduction

In the heart of New York City lies a sanctuary of pilgrimage, prayer, and spiritual renewal: the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine. Home to the major relics of the patron saint of immigrants, this sacred space draws people closer to Mother Cabrini and to God, inspiring faith and devotion for Catholic pilgrims. An immigrant herself, Mother Cabrini arrived in the United States from Italy in 1889 and went on to establish 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages across 40 different locations during her lifetime.

Today, groups of students, senior citizens, and faithful Catholics from across the country travel to the Shrine to visit the chapel, museum, and exhibition about Mother Cabrini’s compassion and service. The Shrine is in a unique position: Because it isn’t a parish, the staff aren’t able to rely on parishioners’ tithes and offerings to fund their mission. Instead, they depend on generous gifts from daily visitors and regular supporters. As donor preferences have evolved, the staff has proactively sought innovative ways to make giving as convenient as possible.

Fewer visitors were carrying cash, impacting donations

Over the last few years, a shift became apparent. “We’ve seen a big change in how people give,” says Julia Attaway, the executive director of the Shrine. “We have many cultures who come here. Some are cash-based cultures, but others would tell us they forgot their money, yet felt inspired to give.” As a result, the Shrine noticed a decline in donations because fewer visitors carried cash.

To solve this, Julia and her team searched for a giving kiosk. It had to be visible enough that it caught people’s attention, but it also needed to fit into its surroundings tastefully. Ease of use was a top priority. Integration with their existing platforms and tools also played a role in their decision. After trying out a smaller, glitchier product, Julia came across Donorbox Live™ Kiosk and quickly switched over after seeing that it checked all the boxes.

A seamless, convenient donation kiosk

After setting up their Live Kiosk in just one day, Julia already knew they’d made the right choice. “I like that you can put your own logo in, because that makes it more personal. You know that it's not just a system, it's the Shrine’s,” Julia says.

She also found Live Kiosk incredibly straightforward to use. After placing it next to the Shrine’s main entrances, she has pretty much left it alone. When tour groups stop to hear about Mother Cabrini, many individuals make an extra, cashless donation. The kiosk has consistently captured passerbys’ attention without anyone needing to call it out. Plus, their Live Kiosk has been configured to collect email addresses from donors during the checkout process, which has helped Julia and her team gather and add contacts to their monthly mailing list.

Big wins with little effort

Julia and her team work incredibly hard to forge lasting connections with donors, often wearing many hats to keep the Shrine’s mission moving forward. She’s relieved that facilitating in-person donations is one thing they can cross off their list. “It's been a steady source of passive income,” Julia says, “I think of it as extra money that comes in without any work.”

Today, the donations that come in through Live Kiosk typically range from $10 to $100, with one generous donor even giving $1,000 – a sum that likely wouldn’t have been possible if the Shrine was still cash-only. Of course, on special occasions – like the Feast Day and birthday of Mother Cabrini – they often receive an influx of donations. These incremental dollars are crucial to keeping the Shrine open and providing an educational experience as well as a faith-centered haven for pilgrims.

When so many different cultures and nationalities walk through its doors, it’s vital that the Shrine offers diverse ways of giving that suit every type of potential donor. Cash and check contributions are still welcome, but now there’s an additional way to appeal to donors, one that supports 17 languages and 13 currencies.

The Future

Looking ahead, the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine remains focused on stewarding loyal, recurring donors through effective follow-up and relationship building. They’re exploring new ways of reaching supporters, connecting with them, and bringing them into the Shrine’s mission.

The Shrine eagerly anticipates and prepares for the Feast of Mother Cabrini on November 13 each year, when the Catholic church celebrates her life and sainthood. In 2025, the staff has restored a prayer bench on the premises, which will be rededicated to Mother Cabrini just before the Feast begins.

This occasion calls for widespread outreach to supporters, telling them about the numerous events that week and encouraging them to attend, give, or celebrate the Feast Day in their own ways.

In the future, they hope to create more opportunities for evangelism beyond the walls of the Shrine. Inspired by Mother Cabrini’s efforts to meet people where they are and bring faith to them, they hope to focus their efforts on inviting people into a relationship with the patron saint and showing them how she can improve their lives.

“Anybody who works in nonprofits is really working to improve the world and to try and make things better,” says Julia. “There's a lot of work to be done. When I think about what makes that work easier, it's systems, processes, and things that help the hardworking nonprofit employee to be a little bit more efficient.” At Donorbox, we’re proud to fulfill that purpose. It’s a privilege to know that our tools are being used to further the faithful work of those embodying Mother Cabrini’s legacy of inclusion, equality, and caring for all people.

Donorbox features used

• Donorbox Live™ Kiosk
• Campaigns
• Donor Portal
• Recurring Donations
• In Memoriam Designations