New Giving Platform

May 17, 2023
Stephen Coakley

Compass Church is currently in the process of adopting a new software platform called ChurchTrac to consolidate and replace multiple services we have been previously using. As we continue to look for ways of being better stewards of the finances our church has been entrusted with, we decided to adopt this new service that allows us to replace multiple tools used by staff and volunteers while costing us substantially less money in subscription costs and fees. (We were also kicked into action when MinistryTracker, the software we were using to track the church directory and giving records, was being shut down after it was bought by another company.)

This new platform helps us manage our church directory, budgets and finances, and online giving all in one software that is easier for our leaders to use while also costing us less. Moving to this software will not only save us some money on operating costs, but will also reduce the amount of manual work required for church leaders and staff to manage all these services.

As part of this migration, we are replacing our previous online giving provider Pushpay with ChurchTrac’s integrated online giving experience. While Pushpay is pretty easy to use, its subscription costs and transaction fees are expensive and we feel it is not the best use of our money when there are more affordable alternatives. ChurchTrac not only costs less to operate, it also will allow you to access our online church directory, update your contact information, give online, and see your giving history (both online and through other means) all in one place through the Church Connect app!

How Does This Affect You?

Over the course of the next several weeks, you will see us replace links and instructions on our website on how to give online to direct you to the new ChurchTrac Church Connect giving page. In addition, we have already started reaching out to those of you who currently are using Pushpay to give to Compass to help you move any recurring giving you have set up in Pushpay within Church Connect instead. Our subscription with Pushpay ends May 31st, so any online giving will need to be made through Church Connect going forward after that date.

Sign Up for Church Connect

To access Compass Church’s Church Connect page, visit https://compass.churchtrac.com on your computer or smartphone and click the Sign In button in the top right corner of the screen. The first time you access Church Connect you will need to create an account. ChurchTrac has a step-by-step guide on how to set up your account here. You can also follow their short video tutorial:

Online Giving

Giving online is simple once you have a Church Connect account set up. Navigate to the Online Giving page within the Church Connect menu, specify the amount you want to give, and either a credit card or a checking account you want to use to give. ChurchTrac has created a short video tutorial that provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the online giving page:

There are two ways to transfer your donation: you can either use a credit card, or you can use a checking account through your bank. The fees for this new system costs us 2.9% of the donation amount plus 30 cents for every donation via credit card. For example, if you make a donation of $100, Compass Church will be charged $3.20 for the credit card processing fees. If you’d like to help us pay for these fees, at the bottom of the giving page there is a switch you can enable to add an estimate for these fees to your gift amount automatically:

This is optional and is not enabled by default when you donate using a credit card. The other option is to donate using a checking account through your bank. Money given this way (sometimes called ACH) only costs a flat fee of 25 cents per donation, regardless of the amount you choose to give. We recommend using this option if you have no preference already, but we thank you for your giving regardless of what method you use!

Giving Categories

When making a gift in Church Connect, you can specify something specific that you’d like your gift to be dedicated towards other than a general offering. To do so, click the dropdown menu next to the donation amount that says Offering and the app will allow you to choose from a menu of currently available categories. If you’d like to designate gifts to multiple categories, you can split one gift into multiple categories all at once using the plus button to the right of the menu:

A window will then pop up presenting you the option of choosing multiple amounts for each category you want to add:

Choose as many categories as you would like to designate (add more using the Add another button) and type in the amount to the left of each category. The total amount of your gift is displayed below. When you are done, click the Close button. You will know that your categories have been selected when the giving page now displays “Multiple Entries” next to the amount like so:

Instead of making multiple transactions, this allows you to designate different amounts to different categories all at once. Easy!

Recurring Giving

If you would like to set up a recurring gift that will apply automatically on a schedule, you can do so using the Repeat option on the giving screen below the gift amount. Be sure to click the small calendar icon next to the Repeat button to choose the starting date for your scheduled gift, otherwise the gift will start repeating from the current day.

If you would like to edit or cancel a recurring gift that you have created previously, first navigate to the giving page, then click on the small gear icon to the right of the payment source box:

A sidebar will open on the right side of the screen allowing you to manage the recurring donations you have set up. It will look something like this:

To cancel a recurring gift, click on the “X” button in the top right corner of the gift you want to cancel. Note that the gift does not display the category that was originally chosen for the gift. Clicking the button will cancel any future gifts being made on that schedule.

Editing an existing recurring gift is not currently supported, so if you want to make a change, you will have to first cancel your recurring gift and then create a new one with the new settings you want to use. Contact the treasurer if you need any help managing your online giving.