Set up Giving
Before you can accept online donations, track donations from a Sunday service, or download donation reports, you'll need to set up Giving. Follow the steps in this guide when you're ready to set everything up so you're ready to go!
Important
Giving administrators and bookkeepers can use Giving and the getting started guides as soon as they’re added. Only an organization administrator can set your currency, add your church’s contact information, and connect Planning Center Payments in account settings. See Permissions in Giving for an overview of additional roles.
Use the getting started guides
The first time you open Giving, you’ll see the Getting started with Giving banner on your dashboard. Select it to open the guides, which walk you through the main setup tasks and track your progress. Three guides are available:
Preview the donor experience: Submit test donations, explore reports and statements, and see what donors see on Church Center.
Get your donation form ready to share: Create funds, customize your donation form, enable it, and share it with your congregation.
Import your donation history: Create a payment source and funds, prepare your CSV file, and import donations from another system.
Each guide links to the help articles that cover its steps. Mark steps complete as you go, or let Giving mark them automatically when it detects the work is done.
To reopen the guides later:
Select the Manage page in the top navigation in Giving.
Select the Setup tab.
Select Getting started guides in the left sidebar.
You can also skip the guides and follow the sections below.
Confirm your account details
Confirm your account’s currency, your church’s email address, and your church's phone number must be listed in account settings to use Giving. If either is missing, Giving prompts you to add it.
Follow the steps in Adjust localization settings to set your currency, and Add church information to add your church’s email address and phone number.
Giving supports USD, CAD, AUD, and NZD currencies. Once you save your currency, you can’t change it. If your account is set to a different currency, you will not be able to use Giving. Contact Planning Center Support if your currency was set by mistake.
Set up Planning Center Payments
Planning Center Payments processes online donations. Until you connect it, your account stays in preview mode, which means you can test the online donation form and enter donations in batches, but donors can’t give online. To try the form before you go live, see Use preview mode to demo online donations.
An organization administrator can connect Planning Center Payments in account settings. The person who completes setup becomes the Payments account owner, so decide who should do it before you start. Follow the steps in Accept online donations and event payments with Planning Center Payments to connect it.
Tip
Only want to track in-person donations or donations from another platform? You don’t need to connect Planning Center Payments.
Customize Giving
Once your account details are confirmed, customize Giving to fit how your church receives and tracks donations. You'll want to create additional funds and payment sources, adjusting Giving settings, and configuring your online donation form.
Create funds and payment sources
Funds track a donor’s intent for their donation. Giving creates a default fund for you automatically, and you can edit it and add more. Create and manage funds will walk you through creating additional funds.
Payment sources track where a donation came from. If you receive donations from an old donation software, from digital wallets, or from charitable retirement funds, create a payment source for each one. Create and manage payment sources will walk you through setting up additional payment sources.
Adjust additional settings
You’ll find additional settings in the left sidebar on the Manage page in Giving. From there, you can enable features like donor numbers and text2give, and adjust donation receipts. Manage Giving settings will walk you through these settings.
Configure your online donation form
Your online donation form is available by default once you’ve set up Giving, Planning Center Payments, and Church Center. You decide whether donors can use features like a memo line or express giving. Turn these features on or off from the Donation form tab on the Manage page in Giving. The Manage your online donation form article explains each feature in more detail.
Important
Don't forget to enable the Church Center mobile app in the Publishing product! The Activate the Church Center mobile app article walks you through the process.
Import donations
If you'd like to include historical donations from another system in Giving, use the donation import tool to import a CSV file of donations. The Import donation history article walks you through the process of preparing your CSV file and completing the import.
Prepare for rollout
Along with getting Giving set up and ready to accept donations, it's equally as important to prepare for rolling things out to your church. If you are using an online donation platform for the first time, you'll want to spend time teaching your congregation how to donate and manage their information online. If you're transitioning to Giving from another donation platform, you'll want to focus on helping donors learn about Church Center and what they need to do to switch over their donations.
No matter which situation you find yourself in, communication is key. Communicate the plan clearly with everyone so they know what to expect.
Here are a few tips for planning your rollout:
Give yourselves 1-2 months to complete the rollout process.
If you're transitioning from another system, announce your intention to switch to Giving to your congregation, including the dates that the two platforms will overlap and the transition end date.
Start publishing the URL for online giving and information on the Church Center app in bulletins and on websites. Many churches use videos during a service and emails to announce their change. You can learn additional promotional materials available in Promote Church Center to your congregation.
Make yourselves available for questions and help in setting up recurring donations, payment methods, etc.
Next steps and additional resources
Now that Giving is set up and you've planned rollout, you're ready to start tracking donations! Check out these resources to help you get started on the right foot: