How to Set Up Online and Electronic Giving at Your Church: A Step-by-Step Guide

Online giving lets people support your church anytime, from a phone, computer, text message or kiosk. Most churches can set up electronic giving in about an hour: create an account, connect a bank account, build a giving form and share it with your congregation.

This guide covers what online giving is, what it costs, what to look for in a platform and how to launch it step by step. It works for churches of every size, including small churches with no finance staff. If you want to see what a complete setup looks like, explore Tithely's online giving for churches.

Key takeaways

• Online giving (also called electronic or digital giving) covers web forms, giving apps, text giving, kiosks and recurring gifts.
• Churches gain steadier income and less admin work. Givers get convenience, security and easy records at tax time.
• Small churches often benefit most, because online giving replaces hours of manual counting and entry.
• Compare platforms on ease of use, payment options, security, church management integration and total cost.
• Setup takes about an hour. Getting your congregation to use it takes a clear launch plan and steady reminders.

What Is Online Giving for Churches?

Online giving is any way a person gives to your church electronically instead of with cash or a check. You may also hear it called electronic giving, digital giving or e-giving. The money moves by card or bank transfer and lands in your church's bank account, with a record of every gift.

Most churches offer several ways to give online:

• Online giving form: a secure giving page on your church website.
• Giving app: a mobile giving app where members give in a few taps.
• Text giving: members text a gift amount to your church's number.
• Kiosk and tap giving: a giving kiosk or tap-to-give device in your lobby.
• Recurring giving: automatic weekly or monthly gifts that givers set once.

Online giving doesn't replace passing the plate. It sits alongside it, so the many people who rarely carry cash or checks can still worship through giving, whether they're in the pew, traveling or watching online.

Benefits of Online Giving for Churches and Givers

Online giving makes generosity easier for the people in your pews and makes stewardship easier for the people who manage your church's money. Giving tithes and offerings is an act of worship, and good tools remove the small barriers that get in its way.

Benefits for your church

• Convenience: gifts arrive even when people forget cash, travel or worship online.
• Consistency: recurring donations create steadier, more predictable income for budgeting.
• Records: every gift is tracked automatically, which simplifies tithe and offering record-keeping and year-end statements.
• Security: no cash counting or checks sitting in an office. Payments run through encrypted, PCI-compliant processing.
• Engagement: giving data shows who to thank, who gave for the first time and how giving is trending.

Handling less cash also lowers risk. In a LifeWay Research survey, 9% of Protestant pastors said their church had experienced embezzlement. Electronic gifts create a record from the moment they're given, which makes funds easier to track and harder to misuse.

Benefits for your givers

• Convenience: give from home, from a phone or in the lobby, in under a minute.
• Consistency: set a recurring gift once and plan giving like any other monthly commitment.
• Records: see a full giving history anytime, which makes tax time simpler.
• Security: card and bank details are protected by secure payment processing.
• Transparency: clear receipts and updates show how gifts support the church's mission.

Is Online Giving Worth It for Small Churches?

Yes. Online giving is often most valuable for small churches, because they have the fewest people available to count, record and report gifts. For this guide, a small church is one with fewer than 100 people in weekly attendance, and that describes most congregations in the U.S. The Faith Communities Today study found that half of U.S. congregations had 65 or fewer people in attendance on a typical weekend.

Common giving challenges in a small church

• Little or no staff. Many small churches have one paid staff member, often the pastor, plus volunteers. Counting, depositing and recording gifts takes time they don't have.
• A small donor base. When a few households carry the budget, one missed Sunday or one family moving away shows up right away.
• Sustaining generosity. Encouraging giving often falls on the lead pastor alone, on top of preaching, care and administration.

How online giving helps small churches

1. Convenience: members can give anytime and set up recurring gifts instead of writing checks.
2. Transparency: real-time tracking and reports show leaders and members exactly how funds come in.
3. Reach: people who have moved away, visitors and online viewers can still give.
4. More consistent giving: removing the hassle of giving removes one of the biggest reasons people don't give regularly.
5. Less admin: automatic records and statements save hours every month and at tax time.

Online giving works best as one part of a generous culture, not a replacement for it. Keep talking about giving in services, small groups and personal conversations, and let the tools handle the logistics.

What to Look for in an Online Giving Platform

The right platform is easy for every generation in your church to use, offers the payment options your people prefer, keeps data secure and fits your budget. Use this checklist when you compare options:

• Simple, mobile-friendly giving: givers of every age, including the less tech-comfortable, should finish a gift in a few taps. Staff need an admin view that is just as easy.
• Multiple payment methods: accept credit and debit cards, ACH bank transfers and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Recurring giving: let givers schedule weekly or monthly gifts so income stays steady.
• Multiple giving channels: online forms, a giving app, text giving and kiosk or tap giving meet people wherever they are.
• Fund designations: let givers choose general fund, missions, building or a special campaign.
• Option to cover fees: givers can add the processing fee to their gift so your church receives the full amount.
• Strong security: look for PCI compliance, encryption, regular audits and a reliable payment processor. Learn more about protecting church donor data.
• Custom branding: your logo, colors and messaging on the giving page build trust.
• Church management integration: gifts that sync with member records save double entry and show the full picture of engagement.
• Reporting and statements: real-time reports, giving trends and automatic year-end statements save hours.
• Transparent pricing: clear per-transaction fees, no contracts and no setup or hidden fees.
• Real support: responsive help for staff and givers when questions come up.

Questions to ask before you choose a platform

1. What will it really cost? Ask about monthly or platform fees, per-gift fees and extra charges for things like PCI compliance, transfers, kiosks or text giving.
2. Do I have to sign a contract? Some providers require a long-term contract to unlock lower rates or certain features.
3. Can the giving page match our church's branding? Givers trust a page that looks like your church, not a generic checkout.
4. Does it connect to our church management system? A direct connection keeps giving records complete and lets you send tax statements without manual entry.
5. Is bank reconciliation simple? Your finance team should see each deposit broken down by fund and by gift.
6. How easy is recurring giving? Givers should be able to start, change or cancel a recurring gift in a minute, and admins should be able to view and pause them.
7. Can givers cover the processing fee? This one option can return a meaningful share of fees to your church.

To compare specific tools side by side, see our roundup of the best online giving platforms for churches.

Free online giving tools for your church

Tithely provides the best online tools to help you increase generosity, manage your church, and engage your church members.

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What Does Online Giving Cost a Church?

Most online giving platforms charge a small processing fee on each gift, and some add a monthly subscription. When you compare costs, look at three types of fees:

• Processing fees: a percentage of each gift plus a flat amount, charged by the card networks and banks. Bank transfers (ACH) usually cost less than cards.
• Transaction or platform fees: an extra per-gift charge some providers add on top of processing.
• Monthly or setup fees: a subscription, contract or one-time setup charge, regardless of how much your church receives.

For example, Tithely's Free Giving plan has no monthly, setup or contract fees. Churches pay only standard processing fees:

• Credit or debit card: 2.9% + $0.30 per gift ($3.20 on a $100 gift)
• ACH bank transfer: 1% + $0.30 per gift ($1.30 on a $100 gift)
• American Express: 3.5% + $0.30 per gift ($3.80 on a $100 gift)

Givers can also choose to cover the fee, and about 60% of Tithely givers do.

Remember to weigh fees against what paper giving already costs. Envelopes, check deposits, counting teams, bank runs and hours of manual data entry all add up, especially for a small church with limited staff. Healthy giving also supports your church's finances as a whole, not just Sunday's offering.

How to Set Up Online Giving at Your Church: Step by Step

With most platforms, you can set up electronic giving in about an hour. Follow these seven steps to go from decision to your first online gift.

Step 1: Define your needs, budget and goals

Before you compare platforms, write down what your church needs. How many people give each month? Do you need text giving, a kiosk or a giving app? What can you spend each month? Set a simple goal, such as moving a set share of regular givers to recurring gifts by year-end.

Step 2: Choose your online giving platform

Use the checklist above to compare options on ease of use, payment methods, security, integrations and total cost. Pick the platform that fits your church today and can grow with you.

Step 3: Create your account

Sign up and enter your church's details: legal name, address, EIN (tax ID) and the bank account where gifts should be deposited. Bank verification can take a few days on some platforms, so start this step early.

Step 4: Customize your giving form and funds

Add your logo, colors and a short message about why your church gives. Set up the funds people can give to, such as general fund, missions or building. Turn on recurring giving and the option for givers to cover fees. For ideas, browse these donation page examples.

Step 5: Add giving everywhere your people are

• Website: put a clear "Give" button in your main navigation and embed the giving form on its own page.
• App: add giving to your church app, or point members to a free giving app.
• Text: set up a text-to-give number for quick gifts during services.
• In person: place a kiosk or tap device in the lobby for people who want to give on Sunday without cash.

Step 6: Launch and promote online giving

People won't use a giving option they don't know about. Announce it from the pulpit, show a slide with the giving link or QR code, and share it in your email newsletter, bulletin and social channels. Record a short video that walks through a first gift, and staff a lobby table or kiosk for a few weeks to help anyone who wants to set up a gift in person.

Step 7: Monitor, thank and adjust

Review giving reports each month. Thank first-time and recurring givers personally, send year-end giving statements on time, and watch which channels people use most. Use what you learn to adjust how and when you talk about giving.

How to Get Your Congregation Giving Online

A working giving page is only the start. These habits help online giving become part of your church's culture:

• Talk about why, not just how. Connect giving to worship and to the ministry it funds, then show people the easy way to do it. Share the goal giving supports, such as a building project or a new church plant, and report progress along the way.
• Show people how, from the pulpit. Walk through a gift on screen during a service, then have a tech-comfortable volunteer available afterward to help anyone set up a recurring gift.
• Make recurring giving the default ask. Invite people to set up a weekly or monthly gift instead of giving only when they remember. These tips to increase recurring giving can help.
• Tell them how to cover the fees. Many givers are glad to cover processing fees so the church receives every dollar.
• Remind, don't nag. Mention online giving regularly in services, emails and small groups, and plan around key moments with a church giving calendar.
• Keep traditional options too. Online giving works alongside cash and checks, not instead of them. Some members will always prefer the plate, and that's fine.
• Say thank you. A quick personal note after a first gift goes a long way.

For more ideas, see how church leaders are building a digital giving culture.

How church members give online

Share these simple steps in your bulletin or on your giving page:

1. Go to the church's giving page, open the church's giving app or text the giving number.
2. Enter an amount and choose a fund, such as general fund or missions.
3. Pay with a card, bank account or mobile wallet.
4. Choose "make this recurring" to tithe automatically each week or month.
5. Check your email for a receipt, and log in anytime to see your giving history.

Online gifts to a qualifying church are generally tax-deductible in the same way as cash or checks. Learn more about whether church donations are tax-deductible.

Why Churches of Every Size Choose Tithely for Online Giving

Tithely is built for churches, from church plants and small congregations to multisite churches, and more than 53,000 churches worldwide use it. Small churches can start on Free Giving with no monthly fee, and larger churches can add church management, a custom app and a website on the same platform as they grow.

Tithely gives your church six ways to receive gifts:

• Online giving through your website
• Text giving
• A free church giving app
• Admin gift entry for cash and checks
• Kiosk giving
• Check scanning

Every gift flows into one dashboard, and giving connects with Tithely Church Management so member records and giving history live in one place. Churches pay standard processing fees with no contracts, and givers can cover the fee. Text giving is included with All Access or available as an add-on.

See everything included in Tithely's online giving platform, or compare plans on the pricing page.

Start Receiving Online Gifts Today

Online giving helps your church receive gifts consistently, cut admin time and make generosity simple for everyone in your congregation. Set up Free Giving in minutes, with no credit card required.