Electronic giving

Online Giving

Our #1 choice: Bill Pay with your Bank
The donor uses the bank’s ‘Bill Pay’ feature to designate the church as the payee and schedules a one time or recurring transfer of funds to the church for a certain amount. What most people do not realize is that the bank sends the church a check by mail and the church then has to process it just like any other check it receives during the week. If the check is misplaced or lost, the donor is still out of funds as the bank will deduct the amount from his/her account regardless of whether the check is cashed or not unless the donor notifies the bank of the loss of check in a timely manner.

Our #2 choice: Credit Cards
The popularity of credit cards from the donor’s perspective is obvious. The donor does not incur any additional cost of using it to make a donation to the church. In fact, he/she may receive added benefits such as airline miles, cash-back or some other form of rewards. The cost to the church ranges between 2 and 5% depending on the type of card, card issuing company and the pricing scheme of the payment processor.

(One way to minimize the cost of fees for the church is to offer individuals the opportunity to pay the fee for the church, often they are happy to relieve the church of that cost).

Accepting Credit Card Payment

To see a list of some options for online giving go to: www.givingfees.com/#church

A Look at the Fees:
Stripe (non profit)
Monthly Fee $0
Debit/Credit Card Rate 2.20% + $0.30/transaction
ACH Processing Rate 0.80% + $0/transaction

Paypal (non-profit)
Monthly Fee $0
Debit/Credit Card Rate 2.20% + $0.30/transaction

Tithe.ly
Monthly Fee $0
Debit/Credit Card Rate 2.90% + $0.30/transaction
ACH Processing Rate2 1.00% + $0.30/transaction

VANCO
For churches with less than $20k/month in donations
Monthly Fee $10
Debit/Credit Card Rate 2.75% + $0.45/transaction
ACH Processing Rate2 1.00% + $0.45/transaction

VANCO
For churches with between $20k-$40k/month in donations
Monthly Fee $49
Debit/Credit Card Rate 2.35% + $0.35/transaction
ACH Processing Rate 0.80% + $0.35/transaction

Our first choice is PayPal which has nonprofit rates. Why?

• Most people recognize PayPal and are comfortable using it.
• No set up or monthly fees for churches
• Reasonable transaction rates
• You receive an email at the time of every donation with complete information about the Donor
• You can “withdraw” from PayPal in batches, for ease in tracking and accounting rather than trying to match the transaction from your bank account to an individual.
• Ease of setting up a donate bottom

To get started first set up a PayPal account:

• What you need to know to sign up
• Churches sign up here
• Then create the “code” for the donate button`

Additional Options for Recurring Giving

Planning Center is an application for online giving and accepting credit card payments. Planning Center Giving is a user-friendly site that works with Stripe to make using and managing online giving simple and quick. Planning Center has a base monthly fee of $14.99 per month and then they follow the same fees plan as Stripe. In setting up Planning Center Giving you will be asked to connect your Stripe account (which if you do not already have one, it will give you a chance to create one at this time).

Planning Center Giving allows you to:

• Keep record of not only online gifts, but also check and cash gifts as well (which will come in handy once you’re meeting in person again),
• Offer a text to give option which is very useful for those who may not be internet savvy and have trouble finding links or webpages,
• Offer a link or embed into your own webpage or App,
• Offers users the chance to cover the processing fee for the church if they choose,
• Give users the opportunity to set up recurring gifts.

Suggested text for sharing online giving and ability to give information to local churches

We also ask that you remember the church with your tithes and offerings. We depend on your generosity to continue in ministry and ask you to mail your check or envelope to the church. [Optional if your church has this ability: You can also give electronically through the church app, or on our website at www.localchurch.org or by texting methodistoffering to 123456.]

We know that the weeks ahead might be a financially pressing time for your family, and you may not be able to give at the same level for some time. For others who have the ability to work from home with a steady paycheck, we ask that you continue to give, and even consider whether you can fulfill a portion of your annual pledge in advance at this time, so that ministry will not be interrupted. For all of us who may be saving money by remaining at home, we ask that you prayerfully discern how you can help as others struggle in this difficult time.

10 Ideas for Church Financial Leaders