{"id":60074,"date":"2023-02-20T03:19:13","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T11:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/nonprofit-blog?p=60074"},"modified":"2026-02-20T04:51:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:51:01","slug":"church-donation-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/nonprofit-blog\/church-donation-form","title":{"rendered":"Build a Church Donation Form That Works (with Free Template)"},"content":{"rendered":"

60%<\/span><\/a> of church donors want to give to their church through digital methods. What is your church doing to make it happen for them?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This fact isn\u2019t surprising \u2013 fewer people have cash on hand and they\u2019re getting more comfortable using digital wallets and contactless payments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donation forms are an excellent way for churches to collect members\u2019 offerings and <\/span>tithes<\/span><\/a>, as well as raise money for specific campaigns and programs.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this article, we\u2019ve shared ways to build an effective church donation form along with examples and a free template to help get started.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a>How to Build an Effective Church Donation Form<\/h2>\n

As more churches collect donations online<\/a>, they find that building a donation form is crucial to how much they can raise. Here\u2019s every measure you should take to build a church donation form that will work wonders for your church!<\/p>\n

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<\/a>1. Stick with your church\u2019s branding<\/h3>\n

The first thing on most churches\u2019 minds isn\u2019t branding, but it is a crucial part of promoting your organization.<\/p>\n

Your donation form is an excellent place to share your branding<\/a> and build trust with donors. You can do this with your church\u2019s mission statement<\/a>, logo, and specific colors and fonts.<\/p>\n

Donorbox Donation Forms<\/a> are fully customizable and you can include a call-to-action message such as a brief version of your mission statement or something more meaningful. You can also change the form color to keep it on brand.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example from the <\/span>Northwood Evangelical Lutheran Church<\/span><\/a>:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Create On-Brand Church Donation Form!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>2. Encourage recurring gifts<\/h3>\n

Since fewer people carry cash, it\u2019s become harder to encourage weekly offerings or tithes. An online donation form should help you regain those recurring donations<\/a> and encourage people to give more regularly.<\/p>\n

Your average recurring donor will likely give 42% more throughout the year than your one-time donors. The reason being that people feel comfortable giving in smaller amounts<\/a> over the course of a year than a larger amount at one time!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To make this possible, add recurring intervals to your online donation form. It is advisable that your church adds at least weekly and monthly intervals to accept tithes and offerings. However, it should also depend on your fundraising strategy for the year.<\/p>\n

These gifts are convenient for donors as well. Once they set them up, the amount will be automatically deducted from their accounts at their chosen intervals.<\/p>\n

Donorbox lets you add several recurring intervals<\/a> including daily, weekly, biweekly, 1st and 15th, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. You can choose to add any four to your donation form. Your donors will be able to log in to their donor accounts on Donorbox and manage their recurring plans \u2013 plus download receipts!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out how the <\/span>Metropolitan New York Synod<\/span><\/a> accepts recurring donations through their Donorbox form:<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a>3. Include donation tiers<\/h3>\n

When asking for a donation from your parishioners, it\u2019s essential to be specific and request an amount that fits the donor\u2019s ability to give.<\/p>\n

Remember to track your donors\u2019 contributions and add them to your donor database<\/a>. This way, you can segment donors based on their giving history. When appealing to donors, you can add five or six amounts to your donation form.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can easily customize your Donorbox donation form to add unlimited donation tiers to your church donation form. <\/span><\/p>\n

See how the <\/span>Tithe for Tradition<\/span><\/a> has used tiers effectively here:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Customize Your Form - Sign Up!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Pro tip:<\/strong> Adding impact data for each donation tier will give your parishioners a clearer picture of how you\u2019re going to use their donations. It increases trust and transparency, and naturally, helps you get more donations.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>4. Add an option for designated donations<\/h3>\n

Your church may have different funds based on how you\u2019re willing to grow, spread God\u2019s word, and help the community<\/a> or people in need. Why not let your congregants decide how they want to help your church?<\/p>\n

Build a church donation form that gives your donors the freedom to choose. Restricted funds may not always be the best option for a church, however, they build trust among donors.<\/p>\n

While making an appeal, let people know the different options you have added and why. Explain the same on your donation page. And let people decide which fund they\u2019d want to give to.<\/p>\n

Remember that your donation management<\/a> system should be able to keep a track of these designations<\/a>. That will help you utilize every donation in the right way and build on the trust of your donors. With Donorbox, it’s a breeze!<\/p>\n

Check out this live example<\/a> from The Church of the Good Shepherd \u2013 they’ve added all these options to help designate donations through their online offering form.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>5. Don’t add too many questions<\/h3>\n

Online donors have short attention spans, so be careful about what you add to your church\u2019s donation form. You\u2019ll want to collect basic contact information and details about why visitors attend. It can be their names, email addresses, and phone numbers.<\/p>\n

You can also add additional questions<\/a> to gather more information, however, limit them as much as possible. It\u2019s best to limit the number of times donors have to click to three.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>6. Make your form accessible<\/h3>\n

<\/a>If your nonprofit\u2019s forms aren\u2019t easily viewed on all devices, you won\u2019t see the donations you hope for. Therefore, it is important that your online fundraising platform enables you to create forms that adhere to the accessibility guidelines.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Donorbox\u2019s donation forms meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) at level AA. They are optimized to function well on all devices, including mobile devices.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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<\/a>7. Provide multiple payment options<\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s donors have several choices to choose from when giving. Many donors will use credit cards, but most people prefer digital wallets \u2013 which are quick and easy to use.<\/p>\n

Enabling UltraSwift \u2122 Pay<\/a> on your Donorbox OmniGive\u2122 Donation Form<\/a> lets donors simply tap once to donate using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or other connected wallets.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Digital wallets on your church donation form are the simplest way to attract the attention of younger parishioners. And since UltraSwift Pay eliminates the need for typing personal details on the form, the rate of successful donations will likely increase!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what it looks like when enabled on a form (donors see the \u201cPay with\u201d option):<\/span><\/p>\n

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Make Giving Fast With Digital Wallets<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>8. Ensure a secure giving experience<\/h3>\n

Your donation transactions must be safe and protected against fraud. Donors these days are aware of these safety measures when it comes to making a payment. Hence, it is likely that they would be concerned about giving online<\/a> with your church donation form.<\/p>\n

Firstly, choose an online donation system that makes it a priority to keep your transactions secure at all costs. Donorbox works with Stripe<\/a> and PayPal to ensure your transactions are always safe \u2013 in fact, ultra-safe! Stripe remains our main payment processor with SSL protection, PCI compliance, fraud detection with machine learning, and encryption.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let your donors know the payment processor your online donation form is using. Educate them about the security measures being taken with their precious donations. This will show them that not only donations, but your church also cares about their online payment security.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>9. Make the form shareable<\/h3>\n

Turn donors into advocates with social media buttons like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. It is important that these buttons are added next to your form and they make it easy for donors to click and share.<\/p>\n

People often love to share with their networks that they\u2019re supporting your church. And why not – this also helps your church boost its outreach<\/a> and be known by more people you\u2019d not otherwise reach!<\/p>\n

When you create a donation form for your church on Donorbox, a fundraising page<\/a> is automatically created alongside it. You can customize this page to include all the important details as well as social media sharing buttons.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Bonus \u2013 Pro tips to make the most of your church donation form<\/h2>\n

After you’ve followed these best practices, you must learn how to make the most of your donation form to get more people to give through it! Let our nonprofit expert, Jena Lynch, walk you through the best ways to make this happen. Give this insightful video a watch:<\/p>\n