Setting Up Online Giving

ChurchTrac's Online Giving is a powerful tool that enables your church to take donations online and have them automatically added to your Giving Screen.

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How to enable Online Giving

To get started with Online Giving, navigate to the Giving Screen and select the "Online Giving" Tab. To enable online giving, create (or connect to an existing) Stripe account.

The first time you visit our Online Giving page, you will be prompted to set up your Stripe account. Make sure you have your church's EIN number as well as the church bank account and routing number where Stripe will deposit your funds. Upon clicking "Setup Your Online Giving Account", you will be taken to Stripe.com to complete the process of setting up your account.

Note: Stripe does require that your ministry has an existing website in order to create an account. You can use your Church Connect URL if you do not already have an existing website for your ministry. If you already have a Stripe account, click the link on the upper right corner of the page to sign-in with your Stripe credentials instead of creating a new Stripe account.

Online Giving URL

Once you've created or linked your Stripe account, you will be redirected back to the Online Giving Screen in ChurchTrac. Now you'll see the unique link that we have provided for your Online Giving page. You can copy this link and add it to your church website or social media page(s).

Church Online Giving URL

If you also use our Church Connect feature, you'll notice that you have a QR code for that page as well. Since Church Connect includes Online Giving, you only need to use and share the Church Connect QR code.

Online Giving Options

The Online Giving page also has several configuration options that you can provide. You can also choose whether or not to enable guest donations, enable text giving, fees options, and more.

Online Giving Options

We recommend that you require donors to log in before giving. When donors log in, it is easier for ChurchTrac to match the donation to the correct person in your database. Signed-in donors can save their credit or debit card for future use, have the option to give using ACH (E-Check) and Text Giving, and can also set up recurring donations.

Using Your Stripe Account

Once you have created your Stripe account, we recommend bookmarking stripe.com and log in on a regular basis. Stripe's dashboard makes it easier to see when deposits are coming into your bank account. If you are a church or ministry in the United States, you can log in to your Stripe account and make sure that ACH is enabled. ACH allows donors to give directly from their checking account, with lower Stripe fees of only 25 cents per donation compared to credit card transaction fees.

Categories used for Online Giving

You can specify which Categories will be displayed as Online Giving options. Go to the Giving Screen and click the "Categories" Tab. Each category has an option: "Use for Online Giving?" Select YES to have that category offered as an option for online donors.

Online Giving Categories

Fees for Online Giving

Stripe will subtract 2.9% plus 30 cents for each successful credit or debit card donation that is made (including Text Giving), or a flat 25 cents for each ACH/Checking contribution that is made, to cover their processing fees. ChurchTrac does not charge any additional processing fees, nor do we charge extra monthly fees or setup fees to use online giving. Stripe offers a discounted processing fee for nonprofit organizations. Go to Online Giving FAQS to learn more.

With ChurchTrac's Online Giving, you can give your donor the option to cover the estimated Stripe fees. When enabled, ChurchTrac will ask a donor who is using a credit or debit card if they wish to increase their gift or contribution amount to help cover the estimated processing fees that will be charged by Stripe. You can turn this feature on or off in ChurchTrac's Online Giving Settings. When enabled, and when the donor chooses this option, ChurchTrac will estimate the Stripe fee by adding a flat 3% to the donor's original gift amount. The actual processing fee charged by Stripe may be different from the estimated fee calculated by ChurchTrac. When selected, the donor is not actually "paying" the Stripe fee on behalf of the church; they are simply increasing the amount of their donation to help the church cover the estimated fee that will be charged by Stripe.

Text Giving

Donors can give by simply sending a text message. This option is already built into ChurchTrac's Online Giving platform. Donors can log in to your online giving page, add their phone and credit card, then quickly text the provided number when they want to give.