Donations & Online Giving

Accept online donations from your community with Faith Sync's integrated giving platform powered by Stripe.

Overview

Faith Sync supports multiple donation methods:

• Stripe Integration - Accept credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay
• External Link - Redirect members to your existing giving platform
• Disabled - Hide the donation feature in the app

Setting Up Donations

Step 1: Configure Donation Settings

Navigate to Configuration > Donation Configuration.

Setting	Description
Donation Method	Choose Stripe, External Link, or Disabled
External Donation URL	If using external link, enter the URL to redirect to
Intro Content	Welcome text shown on the donation screen
Header Image	Banner image for the donation page

Step 2: Connect Your Stripe Account

To accept payments directly through Faith Sync, connect a Stripe account.

1. In Donation Configuration, click Connect with Stripe
2. You'll be redirected to Stripe to:
   • Create a new Stripe account, or
   • Connect an existing account
3. Complete Stripe's onboarding process
4. Return to Faith Sync

What Stripe Needs:

• Business/organization information
• Bank account for deposits
• Identity verification
• Tax information (EIN for nonprofits)

Stripe Account Status:

• Not Connected - Click to start onboarding
• Pending - Onboarding started but not complete
• Active - Ready to accept donations

Step 3: Configure Tax Receipts

For tax-deductible donations, configure receipt settings in Donation Configuration:

Setting	Description
Church EIN	Your tax ID number (for US 501(c)(3) organizations)
Tax Receipt Footer	Custom text included in receipt emails

Example Footer:

First Baptist Church is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution.
Please retain this receipt for your tax records.

Step 4: Configure Giving Options

Customize the donation experience:

Setting	Description
Show Suggested Amounts	Display preset amount buttons for donors
Suggested Amounts	The preset amounts (e.g., $25, $50, $100, $250)
Allow Recurring	Enable recurring donation subscriptions
Allow Cover Fees	Let donors cover processing fees
Statement Descriptor	What appears on donor bank statements

Donation Funds

Create multiple funds for designated giving directly in the Donation Configuration.

Managing Funds

Within Donation Configuration, scroll to the Funds section to add, edit, or remove donation funds.

Field	Description
Name	Fund name (e.g., "Building Fund")
Description	What the fund supports
Is Active	Whether donors can give to this fund
Is Default	Pre-selected fund for new donations
Sort Order	Display order in the app

Common Fund Examples

• General Fund
• Building Fund
• Missions
• Youth Ministry
• Benevolence
• Music Ministry

Viewing Donations

Donations Dashboard

Navigate to Donations > Donations to see the donations dashboard.

The dashboard shows:

• This Month - Donations in the current month
• Last 30 Days - Rolling 30-day total
• This Year - Year-to-date total
• All Time - Total donations ever
• By Fund - Breakdown by fund

Donations List

Each donation shows:

• Receipt # - Unique receipt number
• Donor - Name and email (or "Anonymous")
• Amount - Donation amount
• Fund - Designated fund
• Status - Payment status
• Date - When donated

Donation Statuses

Status	Description
Pending	Payment processing
Succeeded	Payment completed
Failed	Payment failed
Refunded	Fully refunded

Exporting Donations

Export donation data for accounting:

1. Go to Donations
2. Apply any filters (date range, fund, etc.)
3. Click Export
4. Download includes all donation details

Recurring Donations

Members can set up automatic recurring donations through the app.

Recurring Frequencies

• Weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Yearly

Managing Recurring Donations

View recurring donations at Donations > Recurring Donations:

• Active subscriptions
• Paused subscriptions
• Cancelled subscriptions
• Next payment dates

Members can manage their own recurring donations in the mobile app.

Processing Fees

How Fees Work

Stripe charges processing fees on each donation:

• 2.9% + $0.30 for card payments (standard rate)

Cover Fees Option

When enabled in Donation Configuration, donors can choose to cover the processing fee:

• Donor sees: "Add $X.XX to cover processing fees"
• If checked, the fee is added to their payment
• Your church receives the full donation amount

Example:

• Donation: $100.00
• Processing fee: $3.20
• If donor covers: They pay $103.20, you receive $100.00
• If donor doesn't cover: They pay $100.00, you receive $96.80

Tax Receipts

Faith Sync automatically sends tax receipts for donations.

Automatic Receipts

When a donation succeeds:

1. System generates a receipt number
2. Email is sent to donor with:
   • Church name and EIN
   • Donation amount and date
   • Fund designation
   • Receipt number
   • Tax receipt footer text

Best Practices

Encouraging Giving

1. Make it Easy - One-tap suggested amounts reduce friction
2. Multiple Funds - Let donors designate gifts to specific causes
3. Recurring Options - Encourage automatic giving for consistent support
4. Thank Donors - Receipts show appreciation automatically

Security

1. Stripe Handles Payments - Card data never touches your servers
2. PCI Compliant - Meets all security standards
3. Fraud Protection - Stripe's built-in fraud detection

Reporting

1. Export Regularly - Download donation data monthly
2. Reconcile - Match with Stripe payouts
3. Year-End - Provide annual giving statements

Troubleshooting

Stripe not connected

1. Click Connect with Stripe in Donation Configuration
2. Complete all required onboarding steps
3. Verify bank account information

Donations not appearing

1. Check Stripe dashboard for the transaction
2. Verify webhook is configured correctly (contact support)
3. Check donation status (may be pending)

Receipts not sending

1. Verify donor provided valid email
2. Check email is not in spam folder
3. Verify Church EIN is configured in Donation Configuration

Payout delays

1. New Stripe accounts have a payout delay (typically 7-14 days)
2. Check Stripe dashboard for payout schedule
3. Verify bank account is confirmed