According to My Church, giving to a church increases by 31.862% after implementing online giving. Plus, online giving tends to smooth out the peaks and valleys that any church experiences during a fiscal year. In part this is because adding a “donate” button on your church website is like making that tithing basket public, so you can reach church members who are traveling or who are unable to attend church.
In this article you’ll learn about five easy products to help you quickly and affordably begin accepting donations for your church online.
- easyTithe:
easyTithe is a full-featured online giving application that provides for unlimited users, reports, security, unlimited funds or campaigns, mobile giving, and pledge tracking and management. Take debit and credit cards,and eChecks (ACH),or limit contributions to checks only or debit cards only. You get full integration with QuickBooks as well as full ChMS Compatibility. This is not your least expensive option, but if you plan to process between $1,500 and $30,000 per month, you can save, on average, $26 per month over a PayPal button. Plus, easyTithe provides plenty of support along with all the tools you can imagine (even custom event forms) for your site. All rates below include a $0 startup fee.
Transaction Fees:- 3.0% + $0.30 per transaction + $0 per month + $10 monthly minimum donation (Flat Rate)
- 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction + $29 per month (Flat Rate)
- 1.99% + $0.30 per transaction + $49 per month (Tiered Rates)
- ACH/eChecks = $0.75 + $0.30 per transaction no matter the plan
easyTithe includes a breakdown of all their plans and fees on this pricing page, and it appears that their monthly fees include statements, service fees, PCI compliance, 1099-K, virtual terminal and its gateway.
- My Church Website Online Donations: This online giving option is good to work with any church website, as this service customizes the online giving page and emails to meet any church’s specific needs. My Church Website claims no signup fees, no contracts, and no cancellation fees with their plans. All plans include free startup, no charges for statements, batch fees, PCI, or 1099-K. You also can opt for a free online store that also is branded to your church’s current website. The gateway (virtual terminal) is included in the cost.
Transaction Fees:- Debit/Credit Cards: Plan I: 2.2% + 40.30 per transaction + $0 per month + $300 minimum donation per month;
- Debit/Credit Cards: Plan II: 2.5% + $0.30 per transaction + $29 per month + $0 monthly minimum donation.
- ACH/eChecks: Plan I: 2.2% +$0.30 per transaction + $0 monthly;
- ACH/eChecks: Plan II: 1% + $.30 per transaction + $5 per month.
We don’t know what My church Website charges for the inability to meet that $300 per month minimum donation, but many credit card companies charge $25 for not meeting those monthly minimums.
- Stripe: Like PayPal, Stripe is an easy-to-implement and standard platform for payments. Their flat rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction with no monthly fees, no refunds, no setup, and no other fees other than a possible $15 per chargeback (a parishioner cancels a check, perhaps?). Stripe includes a “checkout” payment form that a church can integrate into a giving page on a website. This form also shows up on an app within mobile phones. Stripe currently doesn’t maintain a separate rate for non-profit organizations.
- PayPal: Many churches have used PayPal and continue to do so because of the ease of performance. Plus, PayPal is set up for non-profit organizations and churches. The only issue with PayPal is that it offers only a simple PayPal donation button, which isn’t always congruous with a church website – but, it is a button that’s trusted. The upside is that PayPal doesn’t charge monthly fees – the charges shown below are all-inclusive for their services:
- Discounted credit card processing fees for Churches with 501 (c)(3) status:
- Less than $100,000 in monthly volume: 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction
- More than $100,000 in monthly volume: 1.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
- Givelify: If you want to maintain a very simple giving option, try Givelify, a company that empowers non-profit organizations and churches. This option provides a profile page that you can brand to your church’s image and an app that is web-based. You can set up campaigns or take single donations. Givelify also provides options such as virtual envelopes for special offerings, donation slips that you can provide to your parishioners, and online reporting. Donors pay nothing to download the apps on their phones, and the following rates apply to the church:
Transaction Fee:- 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction + $0 monthly
Bonus: [Updated 5/5/2020] Since this post was originally published back in 2015, OurChurch.com has partnered with Tithe.ly, the premier online giving provider. If you have OurChurch.Com build a custom site for your church or you build one yourself with our WP-EZ church website builder, we can easily setup online giving on your website. For more info, see Online Giving and Donations for Churches and Nonprofits
(Info above subject to change. Check with the online giving provider for current rates and fees)
4 Comments
This is Matt Chandler, Director of Digital Marketing for Givelify.
Thanks very much for the Givelify mention. We appreciate the support.
One thing to clarify: our app is a native mobile app, not web-based. Member organizations get free access to a web-based donation management and analytics console. Donations are currently made strictly through the mobile app.
Coming soon this summer we will be adding a web-based donation widget that organizations can add to their websites, as well as recurring donations.
You need to make a correction in your brochure. You are showing 40.30 when it probably should be $.30 in your pricing.
Hi Bill. Are you talking about the print material or something online? I can't seem to find what you're referring to.
Hey Rich, thanks for writing today's post and sharing some insight with our readers about their options for online giving.