Frequently Asked Questions
February 25th 2016
The following article contains questions commonly asked of customers:
What is Online Giving?
OnlineGiving.cc is a turn-key cloud based giving solution that enables your organization to accept credit card and electronic check (ACH, eCheck) gifts online. Online Giving makes online, text message, mobile and (web) kiosk donations easy and intuitive for givers.
Who can use Online Giving?
Online Giving is specifically for Evangelical Organizations. Our platform is designed specifically to serve the body of Christ.
What kinds of payments can I accept with Online Giving?
Your givers can donate using a credit card or electronic check (ACH, eCheck) using Online Giving.
Can my users make recurring gifts?
Absolutely, Online Giving is designed to make recurring easy and intuitive. Users can create recurring giving easily online and edit gifts after they are set up. Online Giving even prompts users with the option to convert one-time gifts into recurring after payment with a single click.
Can my users make future (scheduled one-time) gifts?
Absolutely, Online Giving is designed to make scheduled gifts easy and intuitive. Users can create future gifts easily online and edit future gifts after they are set up. They can even set up a future recurring gift or convert a future one-time gift into a recurring gift.
Can our users give via Text Message?
Absolutely, Online Giving supports text message (SMS) giving and even allows you to configure keywords for select funds. Users can register their mobile numbers for giving directly over their device or online, Online Giving will even offer easy text message sign-up after web gifts, allowing your givers to easily use text message on their next gift. Text message giving is included for free with all of our plans (requires Twilio.com account).
How does the software send and receive text messages?
Twilio is a cloud communications company based in San Francisco, California. Twilio allows software developers to programmatically make and receive phone calls and send and receive text messages using its web service APIs. We're not affiliated with Twilio, however, Online Giving integrates with your Twilio account to send and receive text messages. Twilio's messaging pricing is very cheap, $1 per month for a phone number and starting at $0.0075 for per message. Online Giving securely communicates with Twilio to receive text messages donations. All donation processing is handled by securely Online Giving. Twilio simply delivers and sends text messages from your Twilio phone number. Online Giving supports both full digit phone numbers and shortcodes.
Can I export my transaction and user data?
Absolutely, Online Giving allows you to export transaction history and user information directly from the control panel 24/7/365 to spreadsheet. This includes all the information you may require to import history into your accounting software of choice. Note: actual credit card data and checking account data cannot be exported as it's stored securely in your merchant's customer information vault.
Can I set funds and sub-funds?
Absolutely, Online Giving allows you to create funds and sub-funds directly from your private control panel. You can even set a custom keyword for each fund/sub-fund for text message giving.
What happens when my organization goes over my limit?
We'd congratulate you on your online web giving growth. In the event you exceed your approved monthly transactions, Online Giving will upgrade your account to the next plan at a prorated rate while keeping your next monthly renewal date the same. However, we understand that donation spikes can happen that are not typical of your regular giving. For that reason please take heart that our support staff reviews each over limit notification. Our goal is to only increase your monthly plan in the event there is consistent overages or a clear need for a larger monthly plan.
Is there a contract? Can I cancel at any time?
Online Giving plans are month to month, never with a contract. Simply contact us at any time if you wish to cancel.
Do you offer refunds for plans?
To keep Online Giving pricing amazingly affordable refunds are not offered on monthly plans. However, there are no contracts and you may cancel at any time. Our plans are month to month, never with a contract.
Do you have an online demo?
Absolutely, please visit the Online Giving Demo by clicking here. You can give using test credit card numbers via the online demo at any time. Give it try today!
What level of support do I get with my plan?
Each plan includes free priority email support via support ticket free of charge for help configuring your account. Also, all plans include free setup which includes configuring your new secure giving website to display your logos and button colors. Not to mention free gateway setup and integration. General phone support is offered but limited to churches with $30+ plans (may require an appointment).
How does Online Giving manage customer card data?
Online Giving integrates with your merchant with a high level of security. All customer credit card and checking account information is stored securely off-site at your merchants secure customer information vault. When a transaction is made Online Giving will securely exchange sensitive information with the gateway. A customer token is then used in place of actual data to make donations.
Will our givers have to enter card data twice for recurring?
Nope, Online Giving securely vaults customer payment information for easy future gifts. Data is stored securely off-site at your merchants secure customer information vault. This allows for Amazon-style giving that encourages recurring web giving.
Does the software install on my website?
Online Giving is a fully managed cloud platform. No installing and maintaining software, no hosting fees, simply sign-up and we'll set up a secure giving sub-domain for your organization on our server. Online Giving manages all of the complex software components and endlessly scales to meet your organization's demand!
Do I get a private secure giving website?
That's correct, Online Giving plans include a free secure online giving website for your organization from our platform. After sign-up, we'll ask for your preferred sub-domain. E.g. https://yourchurch.onlinegiving.cc where "yourchurch" can be set to your organization name. Simply link to your new secure giving website and that's it! During setup, we'll configure your secure giving website to display your logos and colors. Change the look and feel anytime after setup simply by editing the logo and colors in the control panel.
What servers does Online Giving use?
Online Giving is built on the same infrastructure that allows Google to return billions of search results in milliseconds, serve 5 billion hours of YouTube video per month and provided storage for 425 million Gmail users. It's global, redundant and cutting-edge which will allow your next giving campaign to scale-up or down without effort.
Our data servers are located in the Google cloud and have 3rd party certifications for the following:
SSAE16 / ISAE 3402 Type II: (SOC 2, SOC 3 public audit report).
ISO 27001, one of the most widely recognized, internationally accepted independent security standards. Google has earned ISO 27001 certification for the systems, applications, people, technology, processes and data centers serving Google Cloud Platform. ISO 27001 Certificate is here.
FISMA Moderate accreditation for Google App Engine
PCI DSS v3.0
The Google cloud platform undergoes several independent third-party audits to test for data safety, privacy, and security.
You can view more information on the Google cloud network and security here:
Does Online Giving support Fellowship One?
Absolutely, Online Giving integrates directly with the Fellowship One API. Simply match users in the control panel with their F1 individual ids and the software will automatically record contributions into Fellowship One on future gifts. You can even record past gifts into F1 after matching individuals with a click of a button. Our advanced F1 plugin is offered free of charge as a bonus with our $30+ monthly plans.
Does Online Giving support Ministry Platform?
Absolutely, Online Giving integrates directly with the Ministry Platform API. Users are matched by automatically on registration and the software will automatically record donations into Ministry Platform. Our advanced MP plugin is offered free of charge as a bonus with our $30+ monthly plans.
What's Next? How do I sign up?
Click here to sign-up for Online Giving today by selecting a monthly plan that fits your organizations giving volume. More questions? Send us a message at support@onlinegiving.cc. We'd love to hear from you.
