Setting Up Online Giving for a Church or Nonprofit

For many churches and nonprofits, the offering plate and the paper check are no longer enough. People carry phones instead of checkbooks, travel on Sundays and want to support causes they care about wherever they are. Online giving meets them there, and recurring gifts can bring welcome stability to a ministry's budget.

Setting it up well takes some thought. Donors need to trust the process, and your treasurer needs records that make sense. Here is a practical guide. It is general information, not tax or legal advice; your accountant can answer questions about receipts and tax rules for your organization.

Design a giving page people trust

Your giving page is often the first online interaction a donor has with your finances. Make it:

• Easy to find: a clear "Give" button in your website's main navigation.
• Simple: ask only for what you need, such as name, email, amount and payment details.
• Clear about purpose: a sentence or two about your mission and how gifts are used.
• Secure: hosted on a trusted payment page so card details never pass through your own systems. Our guide to card data security and PCI DSS explains why.
• Mobile-friendly and accessible, with readable text and forms that work with a keyboard and screen reader.
• Flexible: card, bank transfer and digital wallets where available.

Offer one-time and recurring gifts

Recurring giving lets donors give consistently without remembering each week or month. Let them choose:

• The amount and frequency, such as weekly, monthly or annually.
• The date gifts are processed.
• An easy way to update a card, change an amount, pause or stop, ideally on their own without calling the office.

Send a friendly note when a recurring gift fails, such as when a card expires, with a simple link to update it.

Keep fund choices simple

If you accept gifts for specific purposes, like missions, a building project or benevolence, offer a short list of options with a clear default, often the general fund. Too many choices can confuse donors. Make sure your bookkeeping tracks each designation accurately, since donors trust that designated gifts go where they asked.

Be thoughtful about processing fees

Some organizations offer donors an optional checkbox to add a small amount covering processing fees. If you offer this, leave it unchecked by default and explain it plainly. Generosity should never feel like a trick.

Receipts and acknowledgments

• Send an immediate email receipt for every online gift, showing the date, amount and your organization's name.
• Provide year-end giving statements that summarize each donor's gifts.
• Use correct acknowledgment wording. Tax rules include specific acknowledgment requirements for certain gifts, such as larger donations and gifts where the donor receives something in return. Ask your accountant to review your receipt templates.

Records your treasurer can reconcile

Online gifts usually arrive in your bank account as payouts that combine several donations, minus processing fees. To keep books accurate:

• Record each gift at its full amount and record fees separately.
• Match each payout to the gifts it contains.
• Keep two people involved in reviewing and reconciling giving records, a simple control that protects both the organization and the people handling money.

Protect donor privacy

Giving records are personal. Limit access to the people who need it, use individual accounts with two-factor authentication, and never share giving information casually. Our guide to protecting member and donor data covers these practices in more depth.

Tell people about it

Mention online giving in announcements, newsletters and on printed materials. A QR code that leads to your official giving page can help at in-person gatherings; make sure it points to your own website so people can verify where they are giving.

Tools that help

Many giving and payment platforms serve churches and nonprofits. Pay by Jag, which we build, counts nonprofits among the organizations it serves and offers them a reduced transaction fee. It provides payment links, subscriptions, receipts and bookkeeping with reconciliation in one place, and payments settle to your organization's own Stripe account. Whatever you choose, compare how each option handles recurring gifts, receipts, fund tracking and exports. Our guide to accepting online payments covers what to compare.

Frequently asked questions

Should we let donors cover processing fees?

It is a common option, and many donors appreciate it. Make it optional, unchecked by default and clearly explained, so it never feels like a hidden charge.

Are online gifts tax-deductible for donors?

That depends on your organization's tax status, the nature of the gift and the donor's circumstances. Ask your accountant how to word receipts and what to tell donors.

What happens when a donor's card expires?

The recurring gift may fail. Send a friendly notice with a link to update the card, and check whether your payment provider can update card details automatically when banks issue replacements.