- Epworth
Recurring Donations in Church Center - Instructions & FAQ
Instructions
Step 1: Go to Epworth’s Donation form and Enter your Donation Information
On our church's donation form (https://epworthberkeley.churchcenter.com/giving), you can give a one-time gift or set up a recurring donation. You can donate to one or multiple funds in a single transaction. Specific instructions are given below each sample screen:
Enter the first amount you want to give
Choose the fund to which you want to give
To include donations to two or more funds, click Add donation
Your total donation amount is at the bottom.
Choose your donation frequency: If you want to give regularly, choose the frequency of the donation and the date that the recurring donation starts.
Step 2: Enter your Payment Method
Option A: Give through your checking/savings account (ACH/EFT):
US donors can verify and save their bank account to use when donating. When you give with a bank account, the processing fees are much lower than when you give with a credit card. However, you’ll need to verify your account information to protect your security.
Choose to Verify your account instantly, or manually verify your account.
Instant verification will allow you to donate that same day. Accounts with most major banks can be verified instantly. You will need your online banking username and password. Follow the prompts to login and select your checking or savings account.
Manual verification uses micro-deposits to verify your account and might take a few days to complete. You'll need to use manual verification if you can't find your bank when you search for it using the instant verification process, or if you have not set up online banking.
Option B: Give with a Debit/Credit Card
Enter your card number, expiration date, CVC code, and billing zip code.
Step 3: Complete your donation
Optionally choose to cover the processing fee, and then select Give now.
You will receive a donation acknowledgement to your email address.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I update my giving information?
Church Center automatically creates a donor profile for you after you donate to your church the first time. You can log back into your donor profile to update payment methods or recurring payments, view your donation history, access tax statements, and set communication preferences. Return to https://epworthberkeley.churchcenter.com/login and enter your email address or cell phone number. You will receive a 6-digit code to log back in.
Why can’t you transfer my payment information for me automatically?
The short answer is PCI compliance. In accordance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, we do not retain nor have access to your stored debit/credit card information or bank routing/account numbers, and it would be a security risk to you if we did.
Can I give regularly to one fund, and make a one-time gift to another fund?
Yes! Start by setting up your recurring donation first. After you click “give now,” a donor profile will automatically be created for you with your stored payment method. Then, you can return to the donation form and make additional one-time gifts.
What are micro-deposits (required for manual verification of ACH Bank Transfer donations)?
Planning Center Giving and Stripe (our payment processor) need to verify the ownership of a bank account before it can be used for donations. There are two types of bank verification:
Instant Verification: Most banks support instant verification after the donor provides their bank login credentials. This verification method is powered by Plaid.
Manual (Micro-Deposit) Verification: For banks that don't support instant verification, select manual verification using ACH micro-deposits. You will enter the routing and account number of your checking or savings account. The payment processor will make one or more small deposits of less than $1.00 in your account. After 1-3 days for the deposits to process, check your email for instructions on how to verify the deposit amounts. Learn more here: https://pcogiving.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016843954
What if I prefer to continue giving by check, cash or other payment method?
That’s okay too! Please continue to give to Epworth using the method that is most convenient for you.
Who do I contact for help?
Members of the stewardship and finance committee are available to assist you in updating your contact information and payment method in Church Center. They are:
Paul Nasman
Charlotte Rubens
Kim Slaney
Please reach out to the church office for contact info.
Can we talk about Information Security?
Glad you asked! The following describes Planning Center’s Information Security practices.
We go to great lengths to ensure the security of your data. Not only is this our legal obligation, but we believe it’s our moral obligation as well. Information about our security measures is available here. In addition to our Planning Center Security Practices and Procedures, we take some extra precautions for Giving. We only allow a specific permission to access giving, and we keep track of each change made in the system logs.
PCI Compliance:
Like any merchant that handles credit card payments, Planning Center must comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS, or PCI for short). Planning Center is a Level One compliant merchant. Our Attestation of Compliance documentation is available upon request at support@planningcenteronline.com.
In practice, we go well beyond what basic security frameworks require. For example:
· Instead of scheduled and narrowly scoped penetration testing required by these security frameworks, we conduct ongoing penetration testing through HackerOne's open bounty program.
· We use local 2-factor-auth (hardware keys, fingerprint scanners, etc) for any employee accessing customer data in the course of providing customer support.
· Although the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies only to customers within the EU, we hold to this standard for all customers even though 95% of them are in the US.
For more about PCI compliance levels, check out this guide from Stripe. Learn about all the ways Planning Center protects your privacy and secures your data on our Security page.
