Connecting Stripe for Online Giving
All online giving runs through Stripe — the same payment infrastructure used by millions of nonprofits. Your funds deposit directly to your church's bank account, typically within 2 business days.
- Go to Settings → Giving.
- Click Connect with Stripe.
- You'll be redirected to Stripe's setup flow. If your church already has a Stripe account, log in. If not, create one.
- Complete Stripe's verification:
- Business name (your church's legal name)
- EIN (Employer Identification Number — your 501(c)3 tax ID)
- Bank account for deposits (routing + account number)
- A representative's personal identity verification
- After completing Stripe's form, you're redirected back to the portal. You'll see a "Stripe Connected" badge in green.
- Toggle Test Mode off to accept real donations. While in Test Mode, you can test the giving flow with a fake card (use card number 4242 4242 4242 4242) but no real money changes hands.
⚠️ Note: Stripe verification typically takes 1–2 business days for churches. You can accept donations in Test Mode while you wait. Don't share your giving page publicly until verification is complete and Test Mode is off.
💡 Tip: When entering your EIN, use the exact legal name associated with that EIN — it must match IRS records exactly. A mismatch is the most common reason Stripe verification is delayed. Check your 501(c)3 determination letter for the exact registered name.
Creating Giving Funds
Funds let donors designate where their gift goes — General Fund, Missions, Building Project, and so on. Donors choose a fund on your giving page, and your giving reports break down totals by fund automatically.
- Go to Settings → Giving → Funds.
- Click + Add Fund.
- Enter the fund name (e.g., "General Fund," "Missions," "Building Project," "Youth Ministry").
- Add an optional description — a sentence shown to donors on the giving page explaining what this fund supports.
- Set an optional goal amount. If set, a progress bar appears on the giving page showing how close you are to the goal. Useful for building campaigns and special drives.
- Click Save.
- Repeat for each fund. Drag funds in the list to reorder — the first fund is the default shown to donors.
💡 Tip: Keep it to 4–6 funds maximum. Research consistently shows that more options reduce giving — donors experience decision paralysis. Your General Fund should always be first and listed as the default. Add Missions and Building only if those are active, ongoing needs.
⚠️ Closing a fund: When a building campaign or special fund ends, don't delete it — archive it. Archived funds hide from the giving page but preserve all historical giving data for reporting and tax purposes. Go to the fund's settings and click Archive.
Enabling Recurring Donations
Recurring giving is the foundation of a healthy church budget — predictable, automated, and proven to increase average annual giving per donor by 42% compared to one-time gifts.
Recurring is on by default
Every giving page shows recurring options automatically once Stripe is connected. Donors can choose Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, or Annually. To customize:
- Go to Settings → Giving → Recurring.
- Toggle off any frequencies you don't want to offer (most churches keep Monthly and Weekly only).
- Set the default frequency. Monthly is recommended — it has the highest setup completion rate and lowest churn.
- Add an optional thank-you message shown when a donor enables recurring (e.g., "Thank you for your faithful generosity — your commitment makes our ministry possible").
- Click Save.
Viewing your recurring donors
- Go to Giving → Donors.
- Click Filter → Recurring in the top bar.
- You'll see all active recurring donors with their amount, frequency, and next scheduled charge date.
- Click any donor's name to see their full giving history and manage their recurring schedule if needed.
💡 Tip: Add a small "Make it recurring" prompt at the end of your giving page — something like "Set up monthly giving and increase your impact all year." This simple nudge, in the right place, consistently lifts recurring enrollment rates.
Reading the Donor Dashboard
Your Giving dashboard gives you a real-time view of all giving activity — totals, trends, and individual donor history.
Key metrics at the top
- YTD Total — total giving received since January 1 of the current calendar year.
- This Month — total received in the current calendar month.
- Active Recurring — number of donors with a currently active recurring schedule.
- Avg Gift Size — average one-time donation amount (excludes recurring for a cleaner comparison).
Viewing a donor's history
- Go to Giving → Donors.
- Search by name or email, or scroll through the alphabetical list.
- Click a donor's name to open their record.
- You'll see every gift with: date, amount, fund designation, and payment method (card or bank).
- Their year-end giving statement is auto-generated here — click Send Statement to email it to them, or Download PDF to print it.
Understanding fund breakdowns
- Go to Giving → Reports → By Fund.
- Select your date range.
- You'll see a bar chart and table showing total giving per fund. Use this for board meetings, budget planning, and reporting to your congregation.
💡 Tip: Review the Donor Dashboard weekly, not monthly. Catching a dropped recurring gift early — before a donor realizes their card expired — allows you to reach out proactively. A quick "Hey, we noticed your giving didn't process — just wanted to let you know" call builds trust and recovers gifts that would otherwise be lost.
Exporting Giving Reports
Your giving data is always exportable — for accounting software, board presentations, and year-end donor statements.
Exporting a date-range report
- Go to Giving → Reports.
- Set your date range (e.g., January 1–December 31 for a full-year report).
- Optional: filter by a specific fund (e.g., Missions only).
- Select your format: CSV (for importing into QuickBooks, Excel, or Google Sheets) or PDF (for board packets and printing).
- Click Export. The file downloads immediately.
Sending year-end donor statements
- Go to Giving → Year-End Statements.
- Select the tax year.
- Click Preview to review a sample statement before sending.
- Click Send All — every donor who gave during that year receives a PDF statement to the email address on their record.
- Donors who gave but have no email on file are listed separately — you can print and mail their statements.
💡 Tip: Send year-end statements in the first two weeks of January. Many donors need them for their tax returns. A church that sends them proactively in January builds significant trust — most nonprofits wait until March or send them only when asked.
⚠️ Consult your accountant: Year-end statements are legal tax documents. Confirm with your church's CPA that your statement template meets IRS requirements for charitable contribution acknowledgments — particularly the language for gifts above $250.