Giving Reports: Your Window Into Congregational Generosity
Every church leader knows that understanding giving patterns isn’t just about numbers—it’s about people. When someone who used to give regularly stops, that might signal a life change, a move, or a need for pastoral care. When first-time givers return, that’s a cause for celebration. And when your congregation’s generosity grows year over year, that tells a story of faithfulness and trust.
Why Reports Matter for Church Leadership
Church boards, finance committees, and pastoral staff need clear, actionable data to make informed decisions. A single spreadsheet of transaction totals rarely tells the full story. You need to see who’s giving, how often, whether recurring giving is growing, and which funds are thriving. You also need to spot early warning signs when faithful givers drift away—before they’re gone for good.
OnlineGiving.org’s Giving Reports feature brings together multiple report types in one central hub. From the Generosity Snapshot with its pastoral health score and year-over-year comparisons, to the Fund Snapshot for fund-specific insights, to the Stewardship Pastoral Care Report that identifies members who may need a check-in, these tools are designed to support both financial planning and relational ministry.
From Data to Action
The best reports don’t just show numbers—they highlight what matters. The Generosity Snapshot includes an AI-powered executive summary that distills key wins, watch items, and year-over-year insights into plain language. The Stewardship Pastoral Care Report groups people by priority tier so you know who to reach out to first. And every report can be emailed on a schedule, printed, or saved as a PDF for board meetings.
For multi-campus churches, the reports respect your campus structure. You can view a campus-specific snapshot or care list, or aggregate across all campuses. The same flexibility applies to funds: view a single fund and its sub-funds, or all campus funds combined.
In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Reports feature.
Giving Reports User Guide
The Reports hub at /admin/reports is your central access point for all giving-related reports. It organizes reports into two main sections: Historical Reports (past performance) and Forecast Reports (projected recurring revenue). The three flagship reports—Generosity Snapshot, Fund Snapshot, and Stewardship Pastoral Care—offer comprehensive dashboards with AI summaries, email scheduling, and export options.
Key Takeaways
- Reports Hub: One central page at /admin/reports with search, quick filters, and links to every report type.
- Generosity Snapshot: Comprehensive generosity health dashboard with pastoral health score, donor lifecycle analysis, payment methods, fund breakdown, and AI executive summary.
- Fund Snapshot: Same snapshot metrics scoped to a specific fund (and sub-funds) or all campus funds combined.
- Stewardship Pastoral Care: Identifies members who may be drifting, groups them by priority tier, and lets you log care touchpoints and export care lists.
- Email & Export: Schedule reports by email, print, save as PDF, or export care lists to Excel.
Table of Contents
- The Reports Hub
- Generosity Snapshot
- Fund Snapshot
- Stewardship Pastoral Care Report
- Multi-Campus Behavior
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Reports Hub
Accessing the Reports Hub
To open the Reports hub:
- Log in to the control panel.
- Click “Reports” in the left navigation menu.
- The hub displays a search bar at the top and two main sections: Historical Reports and Forecast Reports.
Each report type appears as a card with a short description, quick-action buttons, and period or date filters where applicable. The three flagship reports—Generosity Snapshot, Fund Snapshot, and Stewardship Pastoral Care—appear in the Historical Reports section with purple borders and a BETA label.
Search and Quick Filters
Use the search box at the top to filter report cards by keyword. As you type, cards that don’t match are hidden. This helps when you have many report types and want to quickly find the one you need. Section headings (Historical Reports, Forecast Reports) are also hidden when all cards in that section are filtered out.
Generosity Snapshot
The Generosity Snapshot is a comprehensive generosity health dashboard. It shows year-over-year comparisons across weekly, monthly, and year-to-date periods. The report includes a pastoral health score, detailed donor lifecycle analysis (first-time, returning, lapsed, upgraded givers), payment method distribution, fund performance breakdown, giving patterns (one-time vs recurring), fee coverage adoption, and an AI-powered executive summary with actionable insights.
Period Options (Current, Last Week, Last Month, Annual)
From the Reports hub, click “Current Snapshot” to view the current period, or use the quick links: Current, Last Week, Last Month, or Annual Review (prior calendar year). On the snapshot page itself, a period switcher in the header lets you toggle between these same options without returning to the hub.
Report Sections (Health Score, At a Glance, Donor Lifecycle, etc.)
The snapshot is organized into several sections:
- Health Score: A 0–100 pastoral health score with status labels (Thriving, Strong, Healthy, Building, Developing, Starting). Factors include year-over-year growth, average gift trends, recurring giving strength, and active giver retention. New churches see an “Establishing Baseline” message with early wins.
- Executive Summary & Strategic Insights: AI-powered analysis summarizing key wins, watch items, period comparisons, year-over-year insights, donor lifecycle highlights, and giving pattern summary. You can expand or collapse the full analysis.
- At a Glance: Summary cards for the primary period (amount, donation count, giver count) plus a trend card comparing to the prior period.
- Period Comparison Table: Side-by-side metrics for current period, prior period, and year-over-year.
- Donor Lifecycle: First-time givers, returning givers, lapsed givers, upgraded givers, and new recurring givers. Each row links to the People page with filters applied so you can drill down.
- Payment Methods: Breakdown of giving by payment type (card, bank account, etc.).
- Fee Coverage: How many givers cover processing fees.
- Fund Breakdown: Performance by fund (when you have multiple funds).
- Giving Patterns: One-time vs recurring giving mix.
- This Time Last Year: Comparison to the same period one year ago.
Email, Print, and PDF Export
In the snapshot header, use “Email” to open the email settings modal. Configure recipients, frequency (weekly, monthly, etc.), and period focus. Use “Print” to print the report from your browser. Use “Save as PDF” to download the full report, or “Executive Summary PDF” to download only the AI summary section.
Fund Snapshot
The Fund Snapshot is the same generosity snapshot scoped to a specific fund and its sub-funds, or to all campus funds combined. It includes all standard sections: health score, at-a-glance, donor lifecycle, payment methods, giving patterns, and AI executive summary.
Selecting a Fund or Campus
From the Reports hub, use the Fund Generosity Snapshot card. Select a fund from the dropdown (or a campus from the Campus Generosity Snapshot card if you have campuses). Click “View Report” or one of the period links (Current, Last Week, Last Month, Annual Review). The report URL includes the fund or campus parameter, so you can bookmark specific fund views.
For campuses, you can choose “All Campuses” to see aggregated data across all campus funds and their sub-funds. For a single fund, the report shows that fund plus its sub-funds.
Fund-Level Email Scheduling
The Fund Snapshot includes a fund-specific email schedule modal. You can configure automated emails for this fund (or campus) on a weekly or monthly basis, with the same recipient and frequency options as the main Donation Snapshot.
Stewardship Pastoral Care Report
The Stewardship Pastoral Care Report (also called the At-Risk report) identifies members who may be drifting based on their giving rhythm. It tracks each person’s typical giving pattern and flags when someone goes significantly longer than usual without a gift. It’s not about amounts—it’s about changes in behavior that may signal a need for pastoral care.
Care Tiers (Priority Care, Personal Outreach, Gentle Check-in)
People on the care list are grouped into three tiers:
- Priority Care: Highest urgency—those who have gone the longest past their typical giving rhythm.
- Personal Outreach: Medium urgency—warrants a personal check-in.
- Gentle Check-in: Lower urgency—a gentle touchpoint may be appropriate.
Each tier shows a count and a link to view all people in that tier in the People section. A separate Former Recurring Donors section highlights people who had active recurring giving that was cancelled—a deliberate decision that often warrants extra care.
Logging Care Touchpoints
For each person on the care list, click “Log Care” to open the care touchpoint modal. Record the type of care (e.g., phone call, visit, email), add notes, and save. Once care is logged, the row updates to show the care status and the button changes to “Done.” You can also mark someone as “Moved On” if they’ve left the church; they will be removed from future care reports.
Each person row includes an AI care briefing that suggests talking points based on their giving history and tenure. Use these as a starting point for your outreach.
Exporting the Care List
Use the “Export” dropdown to download the care list. Options include: All At-Risk People, Priority Care, Personal Outreach, or Gentle Check-in. Each exports as an Excel-compatible file. For multi-campus churches, the export respects the current campus filter.
The report also supports “Save as PDF” (full report) and “Pastoral Briefing PDF” (AI summary plus contact quick reference). Use “Email” to schedule weekly care alerts or monthly full reports.
Last Week vs Last Month
Toggle between Last Week and Last Month to change the analysis window. Last Week uses calendar-aligned weekly boundaries (e.g., Monday–Sunday); Last Month uses the prior calendar month. The “At a Glance” section shows how many people need attention (no care logged in 30+ days), how many returned this period, and the total on the care list.
Multi-Campus Behavior
For churches with multiple campuses:
- Fund Snapshot: Choose a specific campus fund or “All Campuses” to view aggregated campus data.
- Stewardship Pastoral Care: Use the campus dropdown in the report context bar to filter the care list by campus. The report title updates to show the selected campus (e.g., “Stewardship Pastoral Care Report — North Campus”).
- Exports: Care list exports and email schedules respect the campus filter when one is selected.
If your church does not have campuses configured, the campus selector and All Campuses option will not appear.
Related Reports in the Hub
The Reports hub also includes several other report types that complement the flagship reports. The Donation Report offers executive-ready totals with fund and gift source breakdowns, user activity insights, and one-time vs recurring comparisons—with a custom date range picker. The Donor Report lists donors who gave in a selected range with totals at-a-glance. The Fund Report shows fund performance by status, sub-fund rollups, and recurring totals. The Growth Report provides multi-year growth analysis. And the Recurring Forecast projects future revenue from active recurring schedules. Use these alongside the Generosity Snapshot and Stewardship Care reports for a complete picture of your congregation’s giving.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Generosity Snapshot and the Donation Report?
The Generosity Snapshot is a comprehensive dashboard with a health score, donor lifecycle analysis, payment methods, fund breakdown, giving patterns, and AI executive summary. It uses fixed periods (Current, Last Week, Last Month, Annual). The Donation Report is a more traditional executive report with totals, fund and gift source breakdowns, and a custom date range picker. Use the Generosity Snapshot for strategic oversight; use the Donation Report for specific date ranges and board-ready totals.
Why does the Stewardship Pastoral Care Report show “Building Your Care Insights”?
This message appears when your church is new or has limited giving history. The system needs 3–6 months of giving data to establish each person’s typical giving rhythm. Once there’s enough data, the care list will populate automatically. No action is required—just continue using OnlineGiving.org for giving, and the report will activate when ready.
Can I schedule the Generosity Snapshot to be emailed automatically?
Yes. Click the “Email” button on the snapshot page to open the email settings modal. Choose recipients (from a list of admin users), select a frequency (e.g., weekly on Monday, monthly on the 1st), and pick the period focus (Current, Last Week, Last Month, or Annual). Save your settings and the report will be sent automatically on the schedule you choose.
What does “Needs Attention” mean on the Stewardship Pastoral Care Report?
“Needs Attention” counts people on the care list who have not had any care logged in the last 30 days. These are members who may benefit from a check-in but haven’t been contacted recently. The care list is organized by priority tier so you can focus on the highest-urgency people first.
How do I view a snapshot for a specific fund or campus?
From the Reports hub, use the Fund Generosity Snapshot or Campus Generosity Snapshot card. Select the fund or campus from the dropdown, then click “View Report” or a period link. The report will be scoped to that fund (and its sub-funds) or campus. You can also use the URL directly: /admin/reports/fund_snapshot?fund_id=123&period=last_week (replace 123 with your fund ID, or use fund_id=all_campuses for all campuses).
What happens when the care list is empty or everyone is “fully engaged”?
When no one is flagged as at-risk, the report displays a celebration message: “Your Congregation Is Fully Engaged.” This means no members are currently showing signs of drifting based on their giving rhythm. If people returned to giving this period, that count is shown as a win. For multi-campus churches, you may see “All Clear for [Campus Name]” when a specific campus has no one on the care list.
Can I export the Stewardship Pastoral Care list to Excel?
Yes. Use the “Export” dropdown in the report header. You can export all at-risk people or filter by tier (Priority Care, Personal Outreach, Gentle Check-in). The export includes contact information and is formatted for Excel. For multi-campus churches, the export respects the current campus filter.
Need help setting up reports or interpreting the data? Contact us at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000. OnlineGiving.org provides courtesy setup assistance to help you get the most from your giving reports.