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College Hill Moravian Church Electronic Giving
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| “But
just as you excel in everything – in
faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete
earnestness and in your love for us –
see that you also excel in this grace
of giving.” 2 Cor. 8:7 (NIV) |
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Four
benefits to eGiving:
- You
are taking a step of faith – When
you sign up to eGive you are
deciding in advance to faithfully give.
God blesses that kind of faith!
- You
will simplify your life – You won’t
have to remember whether you gave this
month or if you need to send in
an offering by mail when you are on
a trip.
- You
will be helping the church – Every
person who gives through eGive makes
our record keeping much easier. You
will also help the church keep up its
cash flow during the summer vacation
months.
-
You
can focus on worship during the offering
at church – You can use the
offering collection as a special time of
worship rather than scrambling to find your
checkbook or giving envelopes.
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To Start eGiving
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In order to establish your eGive account you will need a check for your account infomration and your weekly envelope number.
- Click on the eGive logo at the top of the page to access the eGive web site.
Getting Started with eGive:
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CHMC.pdf [1.83Mb]
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Are electronic contributions risky?
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No. An electronic contribution is actually safer than writing a check. It can’t be lost, stolen or destroyed in the mail, and since it is not handled by any person (unlike conventional offering checks) your account information is not exposed to anyone. When you sign up for eGive you are only giving information that is already printed on your check. National laws, rules, and guidelines govern all Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) transactions. Over four billion EFT transactions are processed annually in the United States. It is a proven, safe process that has been in use for decades, even prior to the advent of the Internet.
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When would this automatic contribution be taken from my account?
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When you sign up, you specify whether you want your contribution made one-time, weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, etc. For on-going weekly giving, the amount is deducted on Fridays. For semi-monthly, on the 15th and last day of month. For monthly, on the date of your choosing. (When a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the transaction will occur on the next business day.) Since your eGive enrollment will be verified with your bank, you should allow at least three business days for it to take effect.
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Can I give to the designated funds such as Benevolence, Building, etc.?
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Yes, just put the amounts you want to commit to different purposes in the “Breakout of Giving” section on the sign up form. (All funds not otherwise designated will go into the General Fund toward current year expenses). Your bank statement will show the total of the transaction; however, the church receives the breakdown directly from eGive and will apply your gift to the designated funds, as you will see on your quarterly giving statements.
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If I don’t write checks, how do I keep my checkbook balance straight as well as keep track of my total contributions?
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Your contribution is made on the pre-established day(s) of your choice, so you should deduct it from your check record then. If you provide an email address you will receive a general email reminder thanking you for giving to College Hill Church each time your giving is posted.
Your bank statement will list automatic gifts given from your account. College Hill will continue to provide you with a personal giving statement for your tax records each quarter and at year-end.
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Is there any charge to me from my bank?
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No. Electronic funds transfers carry no bank fees and this service is free to you. College Hill is charged a nominal monthly fee for the service plus 15 cents per transaction. Participating eGive churches have found that any costs incurred are more than recouped by increase in consistency in giving as well as by the reduction in both bookkeeping labor and offering envelope service expenses. The workload for our volunteer offering counter teams will also be reduced.
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How can I be confident this service works as described?
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Close to 100 churches nationwide (and growing) use eGive to receive electronic tithes and offerings (see www.egive-usa.com/partners/ for the most current list of participating organizations). Hundreds more churches offer electronic contribution services to their congregants via a variety of similar service providers.
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Why can’t I give by credit card?
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At present, we chose to offer electronic giving exclusively through electronic funds transfer rather than credit card for two primary reasons:
1) With electronic transfer, your entire gift goes to the church (less a nominal charge to the church of 15 cents per transaction). When using a credit card, as much as 3% of your gift would go to the credit card company.
2) Although many pay off their credit cards each month, many do not. We do not want to potentially put someone in the place of going in debt and paying credit interest on gifts given to the church.
However, should the credit card option become more cost-effective in the future, and/or should there be a groundswell of demand for it, we may consider adding that option in the future.
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College Hill Moravian Church
