You can't count all the online giving companies on two hands anymore.

Online giving for churches and ministries has become a significant business. New giving platforms seem to appear constantly, often promising to make giving easier, faster, and more convenient. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Churches should have good options for receiving online donations.

But there's another part of the equation that deserves more attention: what happens to a percentage of the money being given?

Many online giving companies charge a percentage of each transaction. We refer to it internally as “taking the first fruits of the first fruits.”

And it's not just online giving companies. Website providers and church management software companies have increasingly moved into the giving space as well. Some arrangements allow these companies to receive additional revenue based on the amount of money that flows through their systems.

We think churches deserve to know exactly how that works.

Where Should the Money Go?

There are legitimate costs associated with online giving. Credit card networks, payment processors, and payment gateways all charge fees for processing transactions. Those costs are part of the infrastructure required to move money securely.

But we think there's an important distinction between paying those necessary processing costs and paying a software or website company an additional percentage of every donation.

Does the company providing your website or church management software need to take 1% or more of every dollar your congregation gives simply because the donation was processed through its platform?

We don't think so.

It's certainly a viable business model. From a purely financial perspective, taking a percentage can be very attractive. If a company can make significantly more over time by taking a percentage rather than charging a straightforward fee, the incentive is obvious.

But just because something is a smart business model doesn't mean it's the right model for ministry.

We've Chosen 0%

We've offered integrated online giving for nearly a decade. During that time, churches have processed more than 60,000 transactions totaling approximately $7 million through our system.

At no point did we think, “We should take a percentage of that.”

It simply never felt right to us.

We already charge for our software and services. We don't believe we need another revenue stream tied directly to the generosity of the people using our customers' giving systems.

That's why our position is simple:

FaithConnector takes 0% of your online giving.

We've talked about this internally many times, and it's something our team feels strongly about. We don't think your church should have to give us a percentage of the money your congregation is giving to support your ministry.

Join the 0%

At one point, we were talking about what our version of a “rubber wristband cause” might be. Someone suggested:

Join the 0%.

We liked it immediately.

Maybe we'll actually make the wristbands someday. But the idea behind it is more important than the wristband itself.

We want churches to know that there is another option. You don't have to accept a business model where your website or church management provider takes a percentage of every donation.

There are also giving providers that allow the person making the donation to voluntarily cover the processing costs so the church receives the full intended amount. We think that's a reasonable approach, because the donor has the choice and the church isn't forced to give up part of the donation.

Ultimately, we think churches should understand where their giving dollars are going and what they're paying for.

Online giving is a service. Processing transactions costs money. But your congregation's generosity should remain focused on your ministry, not become another revenue stream for your software provider.