Online Giving Page

Quick Summary: Create a beautiful, secure giving page where members can donate online with cards, bank transfers, or recurring gifts.

Overview

Online giving has become essential for churches. Whether members are traveling, watching online, or simply prefer digital payments, a seamless giving experience removes barriers to generosity. With Relius, your online giving page is already built—you just need to configure it.

The giving page is designed for mobile use and connects to your church's donation workflow. Test how a completed gift is recorded, assigned, refunded, and reconciled in your configuration. Review Stripe's current PCI materials and Relius security documentation rather than treating this page as a compliance assurance.

You can customize the page's appearance to match your church branding, create giving campaigns (like building funds or mission trips), and even embed your giving page on other websites. Let's get your giving page set up so generosity can flow freely.

Key Concepts

Payment Gateway: The service that processes credit card and ACH payments (Relius uses Stripe).
Funds & Designations: Different categories for donations (General Fund, Building Fund, Missions, etc.).
Recurring Giving: Automatic donations on a schedule (weekly, monthly, yearly).
ACH (Bank Transfer): Direct bank account transfers with terms, return risk, timing, and fees set by the processor.
Embed Code: HTML snippet that lets you add your giving page to an external website.

Getting Started

Step 1: Connect Stripe

Relius uses Stripe to process payments. Stripe is the industry standard—secure, reliable, and trusted by millions of businesses. To connect:

Go to Giving → Settings → Payment Gateway
Click Connect Stripe Account
You'll be redirected to Stripe. If you don't have an account, you can create one (it's free)
Complete Stripe's verification (requires basic church info and bank account details for payouts)
Once verified, you'll be redirected back to Relius

Stripe controls payment processing and payouts to your connected bank account. Timing and fees vary by account, payment method, region, and current terms; review the values shown in Stripe and the Relius pricing pages.

Step 2: Set Up Giving Funds

Funds let donors designate where their gift goes. Most churches have at least:

General Fund: Unrestricted giving for operating expenses
Building Fund: Capital improvements or debt reduction
Missions: Global outreach and missionary support

To add funds, go to Giving → Funds and click Add Fund. Give it a name, description, and optionally set a goal amount and deadline (useful for campaigns).

Donors will see a dropdown on the giving page where they can choose which fund receives their donation. You can also set a default fund (typically General Fund).

Step 3: Customize Your Giving Page

Navigate to Website → Giving Page to customize:

Page Headline: A welcoming message (e.g., "Support Our Mission" or "Give Generously")
Giving Statement: 2-3 paragraphs explaining why giving matters and how funds are used. Be specific and ministry-focused.
Suggested Amounts: Pre-set buttons for common donation amounts ($25, $50, $100, $250, or custom). This makes it easier for donors to choose.
Allow Recurring Gifts: Toggle this on to let donors set up weekly, monthly, or annual gifts.
Help cover processing fees: If enabled, donors can add an amount intended to offset estimated processing fees. The final net deposit can still vary with payment method, refunds, disputes, and current terms.
Thank You Message: What donors see immediately after giving. Include next steps, like "Check your email for a receipt."

Step 4: Test Your Giving Page

Before going live, test the giving experience:

Toggle Test Mode in Giving Settings
Visit your giving page and make a test donation
Use Stripe's test card number: 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future expiration date and any 3-digit CVV
Verify that the donation appears in Giving → Donations with a "Test" label
Check that you receive a test email receipt

When testing looks good, toggle back to Live Mode and you're ready to accept real donations.

Features

Recurring Giving

Recurring gifts let donors choose an ongoing rhythm, but participation and revenue remain variable. When recurring giving is enabled, donors choose:

Frequency: Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or annually
Start Date: When the first charge processes
End Date: Optional; many donors choose "until I cancel"

Donors can manage their recurring gifts from their donor portal (if enabled). They can update the amount, change payment methods, or cancel at any time. You'll see active subscriptions in Giving → Recurring Gifts.

Managing Failed Recurring Payments

Sometimes recurring payments fail due to expired cards or insufficient funds. When this happens:

Stripe may retry the payment according to your current account configuration
Donors receive email notifications about the failed payment
You'll see failed payments flagged in your Giving dashboard
Consider reaching out personally to help donors update their payment info

Giving Campaigns

Campaigns are time-bound giving initiatives with specific goals. Examples:

Building fund drive ("$500,000 by December 31st")
Mission trip fundraising ("Send 20 students to Honduras")
Year-end giving push ("Match last year's total")

To create a campaign:

Go to Giving → Campaigns
Click New Campaign
Set a name, goal amount, start/end dates, and link it to a fund
Optionally add a campaign image and description

Your giving page will display a progress bar showing how much has been raised. This visual indicator creates momentum and encourages participation.

Embedding the Giving Page

You can embed your Relius giving page on any website using an iframe. This is useful if:

You have a separate church website but want Relius to handle giving
You're promoting a campaign on a dedicated landing page
You want to add giving to a blog post or newsletter

To get the embed code:

Go to Website → Giving Page
Click Get Embed Code
Copy the provided HTML snippet
Paste it into your external website's HTML editor

The embed is responsive and works on any device. Donations made through embeds still appear in your Relius dashboard.

Donor Receipts & Tax Statements

If email receipts are configured, test when they are issued, which payment states trigger them, and what donors receive:

Transaction ID and date
Amount and fund designation
Payment method (last 4 digits of card or "Bank Transfer")
Your church's tax-exempt status and EIN (if configured)

At year-end, use the Tax Receipts feature to generate annual statements for all donors. These can be emailed automatically or printed and mailed.

Best Practices

Explain available payment methods: Show donors the current processing terms and timing for each option without claiming one is always cheaper.
Encourage recurring gifts: Monthly givers provide stable income. Consider a sermon series or campaign promoting regular giving.
Keep fund options simple: 3-5 funds is ideal. Too many options create decision paralysis.
Write compelling campaign descriptions: Tell stories. "Help us send 20 students to Honduras to build a school" beats "Mission trip fund."
Update giving statements seasonally: Reflect current campaigns or needs (back-to-school, Christmas, Easter).
Thank donors personally: Online giving is convenient, but don't let it become impersonal. Send handwritten notes for significant gifts.

Common Questions

Q: What payment methods can donors use?

A: Donors can give via credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover), debit card, or ACH bank transfer. Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) are also supported.

Q: Can donors give anonymously?

A: Yes! There's a checkbox on the giving form to mark the gift as anonymous. The church still sees the transaction (for accounting), but it's flagged as anonymous in reports and won't appear in public recognition.

Q: How long does it take for funds to reach our bank account?

A: Payout timing varies by account, payment method, region, risk review, weekends, and holidays. Check the pending payout date in your Stripe dashboard.

Q: What if someone disputes a charge (chargeback)?

A: Chargebacks are rare but happen. Stripe notifies you, and you have a chance to respond with documentation (email receipts, transaction records). Relius provides tools to pull this information quickly.

Q: Can we accept cryptocurrency or stock donations?

A: Not directly through Relius yet, but it's on the roadmap. For now, you'd handle crypto or stock gifts separately and manually record them in Relius.