Take a look through these frequently asked questions about giving electronically with Tithe.ly. If your question isn’t answered, you can contact the Church Office, or visit Tithe.ly Support.
- Who recommends Tithe.ly?
- After a thorough search of digital giving platforms, our Stewardship Committee recommended Tithe.ly, which was endorsed by our Finance Committee, and blessed by the Church Council. Tithe.ly has also been endorsed by the ELCA as a preferred vendor for digital giving.
- Is my Credit/Debit card information secure?
- Yes! Tithe.ly takes data and payment information security very seriously. All sensitive financial information is stored with bank level security. All information transmission to Tithe.ly’s banking partner and on our site is done via an encrypted HTTPS (SSL) connection, and stored by the banking partner to PCI DSS Level 1 compliant standards.
- How will my data be used?
- Your personal data will never be sold, traded, or given out to third parties. Your information will be stored only for the purposes of processing your gifts and providing you with giving statements. Read the Tithe.ly privacy policy.
- How will I know when my credit, debit, or ACH is charged?
- Anytime you are charged you will receive an email notification from Tithe.ly.
- Can I give to different funds?
- Yes. On the second line of the Giving form, under the label “Give to” you may select to direct your donation to either the General Fund, or one of our other funds. If you would like to give to more than one fund, click the “ Add Gift” button on the next line to add another gift to your transaction.
- Will I get a receipt?
- Absolutely! As soon as you give via Tithe.ly you will instantly receive an email with the details of your transaction. All of your online giving history is also tracked and available within Tithe.ly interface, giving you instant access to check your records. Click the button to access your account details. You will still receive a giving statement from the church as usual with your total giving amounts.
- What if I accidentally type the wrong amount?
- If you make a mistake while entering a gift, contact the church office and we can refund the incorrect amount and set up another donation for the correct amount. Refunds may take up to 7 business days to appear back in your account.
- What Giving methods are available?
- You can give using your VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or AMEX. ACH bank transfer (aka eCheck) donations are also supported by Tithe.ly church giving. Please consider giving by ACH as it incurs a smaller processing fee, ensuring more of your donation goes to supporting our ministry.
- Of course, you may still give cash or check donations in the offering plate at worship. As long as you use the same envelope number, your contributions will be reflected on your year-end giving statement.
- How do I change or update my payment method?
- Click the button to access your account details. Click “Payment Methods” to add or remove payment methods. Click the buttons at the bottom of the screen to switch between your credit/debit cards and your bank account (ACH) details.
- What is “Cover card processing fees”?
- All electronic giving involves processing fees. These fees help cover the cost of processing each electronic transaction, and maintaining a secure and safe environment for your transactions. By selecting the “Cover card processing fees” option, you increase your donation by the amount of the fee, ensuring St. Peter’s receives your full intended gift amount. To reduce processing fees, consider giving by ACH bank transfer (aka eCheck).
- What is my “Member ID#”?
- Your Member ID number should be the same as your Offering Envelope number. If you don’t have physical envelopes, you can find this number on a prior giving statement, or get in touch with the church office. Enter your Member ID number to ensure that your contributions through Tithe.ly will be connected with your giving records at St. Peter’s. You only need to enter the Member ID number once, it will be saved with your record. If you haven’t entered a Member ID number, our counters will try to match up your donation(s) with your record and add the number for you.
- How do I change my auto recurring giving amount?
- Click the button to access your account details. Click “Recurring Gifts”. On this screen, you’ll see your existing recurring gifts. Click the red trash icon to delete your existing current gift that you’d like to change. Click the button and return to the Home page of the app. Then setup a new auto recurring gift for the desired amount.
- Do I have to have a Tithe.ly account to give?
- When giving, registering, or paying via the Tithe.ly web giving form you do NOT have to create a Tithe.ly account to make one-time or recurring donations. Simply enter your payment details and click the Give button.
- What benefits are there to setting up a Tithe.ly account?
- By creating an account, you’ll be able to securely store your payment method (so you don’t have to enter it each time), setup and manage recurring donations, see your online giving history, and manage your account yourself 24/7.
- What about Simply Giving?
- If you have signed up to use Simply Giving for your recurring donations, those donations will continue to be processed. If you’d like to switch your giving over to Tithe.ly, you will need to contact the church office to cancel your Simply Giving payments.